Against Your Word
by baka-neko-fan
Summary: Matt knew something was wrong that day... The day when L died... The day when Mello left forever, and left Matt behind with orders to stay put... But forever's a long time, and Matt won't wait "a long time" to see his friend again. M&M, rated for later.
1. Sorry, Mello, no can do

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

* * *

Something was wrong. Through the eyes of almost everyone at Wammy's, it seemed to be just another, boring day… But Matt could tell something was wrong. Mello had hardly said two words to him since the afternoon. Matt had been waiting for his friend to return from the dreaded world of 'outside,' for a few hours now. Well, two and a half, anyway… It was strange, though, because he had heard everyone else come in almost forty-five minutes before he saw the blonde. In fact, he'd actually gotten so concerned that he lost against Boo in Mario Kart. That in itself was a clear sign that he was perturbed, but, he found that it didn't matter when Mello finally walked through the door. "Mello?" He asked softly, noting the glare that was more prevalent than usual, "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine," Mello growled in response, and Matt dropped the subject. He could tell that, whatever was bothering Mello, was best left unsaid right now. Mello sat down forcefully at his desk, presumably to do some homework, though Matt wasn't really nosy enough to check… Instead, he returned to his game, though he was unable to completely focus. Even now, it was clear to him that something was amiss… But it was made even more apparent when Near appeared in their doorframe.

"Mello… You're wrong, you know…" He said softly, gazing inside at Mello, who now clutched his pencil so tightly that it snapped in two, "He would-"

"I know, Near," He spat, refusing to make eye contact, "But I'm not changing my mind." Matt found this entire conversation strange. What were they talking about? Who would what? And why wasn't Mello jumping down the younger boy's throat like he usually would?

"It's your choice…" Near murmured before turning to leave.

Matt stared, dumbstruck, at Mello. "What was that all about?" He asked, "Why didn't you go after him? Wh-"

"Shut up, Matt." Mello commanded, though he did not so much as turn his head in Matt's direction. Though he was clearly hurt by Mello's reaction, Matt did as he was told.

After several minutes of awkward silence between Matt and Mello, Matt finally decided to give Mello some space. Maybe he would calm down some if he had some time to himself. "I'm going for a walk…" He said quietly, receiving only a dismissive wave of the hand from Mello. He sighed and left their room, turning off his GameBoy as he left. As much as he hated exercise, he felt that it was the only logical excuse.

After walking for quite awhile, trying to piece together what had happened, he heard voices inside Roger's office. At first, he had planned on walking past without a second thought, but, just as he got close enough to make out actual words, he heard them say Mello's name. Maybe he knew what was going on. He stood, with his back flat against the wall beside the open door, listening in to Roger's conversation. At first, it sounded like he was talking to himself, but, well… "-Mello and Near… Mello didn't take the news well at all…"

_News? What news? _

"And Near?" One of the other voices, which Matt instantly recognized as their English teacher, asked.

"Near… Didn't really show much interest. It seemed like he already knew." Roger admitted, then added quickly, as if to absolve everyone else's doubts, "But I doubt that's true. I don't see how Near could possibly have heard of L's death before I did…"

Matt froze at this. _L? Dead?_ Those words didn't belong together in a sentence… _Mello knew… He was trying to protect me, wasn't he? _The redhead contented himself with this thought as he continued listening.

"Who did he choose?" Yet another voice asked.

There was a brief moment of hesitation before Roger replied, "He didn't… I suggested that Mello and Near work together, but, Mello objected strongly to the idea."

Matt scoffed at the pure stupidity of the suggestion. Mello's pride would never allow him to work with Near, and the gamer knew this quite well.

"I suppose I should have suspected that much," Roger added, "But I did not expect him to announce that he would be leaving Wammy's-"

That was all Matt needed to hear. Mello was leaving…? But- _Oh shit! _Realizing that he had probably made the worst mistake of his lifetime, ran back to their room and threw the door open, shouting, "Mello!" It was too late. Mello was gone… And the fact that the lowest drawer of the desk, where Mello usually kept his secret stash of chocolate, was empty only confirmed that fact. "Mello…" Shaken, Matt sat down on the abandoned chair, which was still a little bit warm, and glanced at the desk, looking down at the paper which was clearly _not _homework.

_Matt,_

_Kira killed L. I'm leaving, forever. I have to catch Kira before Near… DON'T LOOK FOR ME! Stay here where it's safe. On the off chance that Near and I both die, it'll be up to you to take over for us._

_Goodbye,_

_Mello._

Matt could tell, simply by the lack of detail and the sloppiness of the note that Mello had been in a hurry. He _had_ left. And he'd left Matt behind… But Matt vowed to find him. Though he rarely went against what Mello told him, staying away was one thing that Matt could never do. He would find Mello, and when he did, he would never let him out of his sight again. There was no way the poor gamer could allow this… He hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye! It wasn't fair for Mello to just up and leave without warning like that, it just wasn't!

"Matt?" Near called inside the room. He'd apparently come to see if Mello had left yet, "Have you seen Mello?"

"He's already gone, Near." Matt mumbled, not bothering to turn and look at the white-haired boy.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Near said softly, pausing before adding, "Did you hear about what happened to L?"

"Yeah, I heard," Matt mumbled, falling silent for a moment. "Near? Can you do me a favor?" He asked, testing the waters. He didn't often ask favors from anyone, but, in this case…

"Perhaps." Near replied, looking at the other curiously, trying to figure out what he was up to.

"Can you tell Roger that I'm leaving, too?"

Near watched Matt for a moment before replying, "I can, yes… Are you going to look for Mello?"

"No," Matt replied, facing Near with a determined look, "I'm going to _find _Mello." With this, he buried himself in the black hole he called a closet and began digging around for loose game cartridges, ignoring Near as he left.

* * *

Hehe, I know, lame line. "I'm going to find him…" It seemed like something he would say, though… At least when he was under so much stress, you know? Well… Hoped you like it so far… I've really been wanting to do this pairing, ever since I discovered Matt's personality. (And existence. I really have no idea how I missed him the first time through… I watched the anime, then read the manga…) Well, don't forget your two R's, and I hope to see you again soon!


	2. Bad habit

Wow! All hits have been visitors so far?! New record for the Baka! I'm so happy you all seem to like it so far... Even though that one line at the end was... Well... Here goes... Another chapter! (Reviews are loved!)

* * *

Matt really had no idea where he was going. He had gathered a red tote bag full of gaming supplies... Oh, and one change of clothes... Before heading out of Wammy's. He had about five hundred and fifty pounds ((AN:That's about $807.49 USD-- info from Ask Jeeves [Jeevas, LOL] I used pounds because... Well, he's living in Winchester!)) in the pocket of his vest... Though he realized this probably wasn't the best idea, he didn't have anywhere else to put it. Unless he wanted to stuff it in his shoe or something... Pulling out his cell phone, hoping that Mello would actually answer this time, he noticed the little battery icon in the corner was flashing red. "Shit, I forgot my charger." He glanced back at the gates, deciding that it probably wasn't the best idea to go back at this point. Sighing, he tried one more time to contact Mello. Unfortunately, before he could even get to the voice-mail, the phone cut off- dead. He crammed his phone back into his pocket with the money, annoyed, and scanned his surroundings. The rain was finally letting up- that was a plus... But, unfortunately, that wouldn't really help him find Mello... And now, he had to waste money on a phone charger _and _risk having the Radio Shack workers phone home.

Mattmath: Radio Shack= home away from home. Roger knows that. Roger + phone + Radio Shack tattletales= PWND Matty forced back home. Not exactly a good idea. He'd have to find somewhere else, farther away, where he wouldn't be recognized. Or maybe he could call Near at a payphone...? No, Near wouldn't go for that plan. He never left the house anyway.

"Mello, why didn't you just tell me?" He asked nothing in particular, shivering. The rain may have stopped, but the sun wasn't out... So he was cold. Which meant he had to find somewhere to warm up. Diner? No, too obvious… He continued walking away from Wammy's as he thought, hotel? Well… He'd need somewhere to stay anyway, but it probably wasn't good to do that so close to home. At last, he came to a drug store. It wasn't much, but not a bad place to hide out. Nobody would expect to find him there anyway. He sat down on the municipal bench towards the front of the store, pulling the heavy tote bag on to his lap and opening it, checking for damage. Everything seemed relatively safe… And dry, surprisingly. With a relieved sigh, he slouched back against the seat. "Today sucks." He announced, pulling his dead phone out of his pocket. "It's your fault!" He scolded the item, "I just charged you last night, and this is the thanks I get? You go and die on me…" He threw the phone to the ground, and it skittered to a stop at someone's feet. Matt glanced up, hoping like hell that it wasn't someone who would recognize him.

The man picked the phone up and carried it back to it's rightful owner, "Rough day?" He asked, apparently just trying to make small talk.

"You don't know the half of it." Matt replied, taking the phone back with a soft 'thanks'.

The man invited himself to sit down beside Matt, which naturally made the boy a bit uncomfortable. 'Stranger Danger' alarm going off. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lifted one to his lips before holding the carton out to Matt, "Need a smoke?"

Matt hesitated for a moment, but, eventually took one. He knew it was a bad habit, but he wasn't exactly in the best mindset right now. "Thanks." He muttered. Apparently the man had misjudged his age. He allowed the older man to light it before taking a drag and almost immediatle coughing.

Laughing, the man asked, "Was that your first smoke?"

"Yes," Matt replied, still hacking. Eventually, he calmed down enough to take another, long inhale. After a few more rounds of this, he got used to the sensation. It was actually quite enjoyable.

The man eventually left Matt alone, and he took what was left of his cigarette and his bag of gadgets outside again. Exhaling a puff of smoke, beginning to like the look of it. Suddenly, he heard a click behind his head. A gun? He dropped his bag and put his hands in the air, not taking any chances.

"What the hell are you doing with that cancer stick in your mouth, Matt?!" An extremely familiar- and quite welcome- voice snapped.

"Mel-"

"Shh! You want somebody to hear us? I can't believe you were actually stupid enough to follow me. Go home!" Mello commanded, pressing the gun closer to the other's head.

"Mello, where did you get a gun from?" Matt asked curiously, not at all afraid of said object. In Mello's hands, it really wasn't a threat to him.

"Found it," Mello blatantly lied. He'd obviously taken it from someone.

"You don't even know if that's a blank round or if unloaded. You might consider that before you make threats." Matt reminded. True threats were just as effective with unloaded guns, but it was dishonest...

"Care to test that theory?" Mello asked, his grip tightening on the trigger.

"You wouldn't..." The gamer said softly, still completely calm. He truly had no fear of Mello... He knew that no matter what was going through his head, the blonde would never actually hurt him... At least not on purpose.

"I would,"

"Not to me. Go ahead, try it." Matt offered, "Shoot me, Mello." He heard the trigger click back another notch... But after a few moments, the pressure against his skull was removed. Mello had brought the gun back down to his side. "I knew you wouldn't do it." Matt smiled, then remembered what had happened before and forced a disgruntled look as he turned to face Mello, "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

"You would've followed me," Mello replied simply, biting off a chunk of chocolate in agitation. "Why do you have a cancer stick in your mouth?"

"Stress," The redhead muttered nonchalantly, throwing the item that was apparently offending his friend aside.

"And why are you following me when I told you to stay put?" The blonde pressed. Though he did not say 'thank you for getting rid of that stupid thing,' it was apparent in his voice that he was quite grateful.

Matt frowned, "What? Did you expect me to forget about you and become best buddies with Near?"

Mello scowled at the thought, "No... But I don't want you following me, either. Go back home!"

"Are you coming with me?" Matt questioned, though he already knew the answer.

"No I'm not coming with you! What the hell kind of question was-"

"Then I'm not going back." Matt stated, "Forget it. Without you there to nag me, I'll just flunk out of all my classes anyway." He paused for a minute to let that sink in before asking, (though it was really more of an observation than a question,) "You knew I was going to follow you anyway, didn't you? You were waiting for me."

"I was not!" Mello snapped. He had defenatley not been expecting that accusation. "I was just going to pick up some more chocolate from the drug store-"

"Riiight." The redhead grinned, deciding that no matter what he said, Mello would try to deny it. "Where are we going now, then?"

"_You're_ going back home." Mello said, "And you're staying there until I catch Kira."

Sighing, Matt stated firmly, "I'm not going back, Mello. I'm going with you."

"You're not coming with me!" Mello raised the gun again, "Just go back home!"

"Fine, you win, Mello. I'll go home," Matt replied, lifting the bag up again. "Be careful..." With this, he started heading back towards Wammy's... Though he had no intention of actually going there. If Mello wouldn't give him permission, he had no choice but to be a total stalker about it. There was no way in hell he could just go back home and lie around playing video games and eating BonBons ((A/N: Literally, you know that's what he'd do.)) while Mello was out possibly getting himself killed.


	3. We're leaving, stalker

Not much to rant about today... Well, I saw RENT (the live musical, not the movie... Though that rocks too...), and it was BA, but... Other than that, life's pretty boring. A/N about Mattmath: ....I LIKE IT! . I added it in not because I think he's a math nerd, but because I like saying Mattmath, it seems to work with the story, and it is possible that he might think like that. Besides, none of it's really math anyway. I guess that was as close to a rant as you're going to get out of me today, so I'll leave you with a little bit of advice that I came up with at random. "When life gives you lemons, cut it open to make sure it's good, then make lemonade and carry it with you everywhere, taking little sips when you need a pick-me up or get too bored with boring tapwater." Think about that one. I thought it was pretty good advice.

* * *

Matt was pretty certain that Mello had, in fact, been waiting for him. Yes, chocolate was important to the blonde, but he could get that anywhere. If he'd really wanted to get away and leave Matt behind, he wouldn't have stayed long enough to give the poor gamer a chance to find him. Though it _was_possible that Mello had just wanted to tell him face-to-face not to follow, Matt found it highly unlikely. After getting about three blocks away from where he'd last seen his friend, Matt turned around and began to search for him again. This didn't take long, as the blonde hadn't gone very far. He actually _had _gotten some chocolate, and was just walking past the gamer's discarded cigarette when he was spotted. The sun was beginning to set, creating an interesting array of colors in the younger boy's goggles. He wasn't exactly accustomed to seeing the sun rise or set: his face was always buried in a game by that point. He did know, however, that if he left said items on much longer, he might lose sight of Mello, as they were somewhat tinted. He pushed the goggles up to rest on his head before following Mello, being careful to stay in the shadows as much as possible.

After several hours of walking around aimlessly, Matt was beginning to get tired, as he wasn't exactly used to all this exercise. It was completely dark out now- with the exception of the streetlights and the dim lights of buildings- which only really made matters worse.

Mattmath: darkness + goggles= Zero visibility. Matt - goggles = naked feeling. Lovely.

Thinking perhaps a bit too much, Matt slowed down. Why was he bothering to follow Mello, who obviously (for appearance's sake) didn't want him there? Maybe he really should just give up and go home. Maybe- "You're falling behind, Matt." Mello's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. The redhead ducked into an alley hoping that his friend had just been guessing. "Quit hiding; I know you're there." The voice grew closer, "You've been following me since I left that stupid convenience store. Your shoes are louder than you think they are."

Completely caught in the act, Matt stepped back out of the alley, now facing Mello, who was only about two feet away. "Why didn't you say anything?" He asked, not really sure why Mello would've said this if he wanted Matt to leave.

"Would it have mattered? You were going to follow me no matter what I said anyway." Mello replied, unwrapping a fresh bar of chocolate with his teeth.

"Probably..." Matt admitted, deciding not to voice his thoughts about giving up. "You didn't really think I was going home, did you?"

"No, I knew you weren't. But I didn't think you'd follow me for such a long time. I thought you'd get worn out and give up." The blonde stated, sounding a little bit... Dare I say... Impressed? Yes, Mello was somewhat impressed, though he was making it quite clear that he wished Matt would've just gone home like he was told. The underlying tone of his admiration wouldn't really have been noticed by anyone who didn't really know Mello.

"I thought about it..." Matt finally confessed, "But I don't think I really could've gone through with it anyway."

"How much money do you have?" Mello questioned, taking a few steps closer to his friend. Now that they had both pretty much determined that the other wasn't a threat, there was no reason to be so far apart.

"Umm... About Five hundred fifty pounds, give or take." He replied softly, pretty sure it was a bad idea to be talking about money in the open like this. With robbers and all... "Why?"

"We're leaving." Mello stated, turning to walk away from Matt again.

"Come again? We just left, Mello. Wammy's is-"

"No, idiot. We're leaving _the UK._We're going to America." Mello told him, not bothering to look back. Matt stared at the back of Mello's head, trying to figure out what was going on inside of it. He stopped walking, causing Mello to turn around. "What?" He asked snappishly.

"Are you insane?"

"Probably. But that's beside the point." Mello replied, biting off a chunk of chocolate. If it were anyone other than Matt, he would probably be pissed off at the accusation... But he knew no harm was meant by his friend.

"I get that you want to catch Kira..." The gamer said softly, completely unfazed by the remark, "...But he's in Japan... Not the 'states...."

"I know that," Mello grumbled, "But it's safer to stay away from him for now. If we get too close, the second Kira might see our names and kill us." With this, he turned and continued walking.

Matt thought about this for a moment before determining that it made at least a little bit of sense. Following Mello, he asked, "Does that mean you're going to let me stay with you?"

"Not like I have a choice." Mello replied bluntly. It was true, of course, Matt would apparently follow him anyway.

A very satisfied Matt asked, "So where exactly in the 'states are we going?"

"I haven't really decided yet..." Mello admitted, "But I think LosAngelas... It would probably be the best for what I'm planning."

Deciding not to question Mello's logic any further, Matt smiled and said simply, "Okay."


	4. Planes and smokes

An Easter present for all of you. (If you celebrate Easter... If you don't, it's a random update. XD) Enjoy!

All currency conversions are from ... Unfortunately, I don't have a mental currency calculator. XD

* * *

It took most of the money that Mello had brought along- about 2,228.04 Pounds (about $1,800 USD) out of about 2,300 pounds (about $2271.22 USD)- to pay for both of their tickets. Apparently, they were taking a plane to New York, where they would do a currency exchange, ((A/N: Thus eliminating my need for a calculator once and for all)) then take another plane to L.A... Which would be $460 US dollars... Leaving only $11.22 left of Mello's money... Which meant they would need jobs. With Matt and Mello's money combined, they would only have $818.71... That was barley enough for a hotel room for one night and a week's worth of groceries. Needless to say... Matt wasn't too fond of the idea. They'd probably have to find an illegal way of getting enough money to live on for the first few weeks. But, they had bought the tickets nonetheless, and were now on the excruciatingly long (and not to mention boring) plane ride to America... And Matt had never been more grateful for his GameBoy. Mello, who was apparently more tired than he'd let on earlier, was trying desperately to keep his eyes open, though, eventually, he was unable to help himself, and slumped against Matt's shoulder, already fast asleep and unaware of where his head was going by the time he hit the warm makeshift pillow.

Glancing over at his friend briefly, Matt mumbled, "Well, I'm glad you're comfortable, Mello." He was only able to play the GameBoy for a few more minutes before his battery died. Though he had fresh ones in his bag, he was afraid of waking Mello, so, instead, he leaned his head against the others and closed his eyes, soon drifting off to sleep himself.

They were both awakened to the beeping of the announcement button, and the pilot's gruff voice came through the speakers, "We have now arrived at the destination, New York, New York, the temperature is currently thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit..." Neither of the boys really cared to listen to the rest of what the old man had to say, they simply contented themselves to gathering their bags. After standing in line for an hour or two, they were finally released into the airport terminal.

"Why were you sleeping on me?" Mello asked, annoyed by the thought that Matt had invaded his personal space while he was asleep.

"Because you passed out on my shoulder," Matt replied simply. It was now that he realized that right now, more than anything, he was craving something he never thought he would crave; a cigarette. Was Nicotine really that addicting?

Mello, dodging this accusation, as he knew it was probably true, said, "Whatever... Let's just go exchange the money and get out of here. Our flight's leaving in about a half an hour."

Matt wasn't too fond of that thought either. He had a feeling that by the time they got off of the second plane, their butts would be completely numb... But he decided not to complain, and instead, asked, "Mello? How exactly are you planning on surviving once we get to L.A.?"

Mello, seeming to know exactly what Matt was talking about, began walking as he mumbled, "By the time we get there we should have something added to both of our bank accounts..."

It took a moment for Matt to figure out what Mello was talking about, but he eventually caught on. They would both probably inherit a decent amount of money from L. As wrong as it felt to take money from him like that, it was nice to know that they would at least be supported in some way. "Got it..." He muttered. That meant he could afford to buy a pack of cigarettes after all. As long as he could sneak enough money away from Mello... The exchange didn't take too long, and as soon as it was finished, Mello held twenty dollars out for Matt.

"Get whatever you want. I'd suggest food, unless you want to eat that crap they call food on the plane." Mello told him.

Smiling, Matt thanked him and went off to the convenience store on the other side of the terminal. He found it quite amazing how big these places were... It was like it was it's own little village. But that didn't matter. Right now, he had tunnel vision for one item: cigarettes. Luckily for him, the cashier didn't question his age when he asked for the Marlboro's. Apparently the goggles hid his identity enough to cover up his age. He sat down on a bench just outside the store and lit it up, taking a drag.

Matt had no idea how long he'd been sitting on that bench before Mello finally found him. Unfortunatley... He wasn't done with his cigarette yet. "What he hell are you doing, Matt?" The blonde snapped, "I said _food _not _cigarettes! _What are you thinking?!" He snatched the offensive item from between the gamer's fingers and tossed it into a conveniently placed stand-alone ashtray.

"Smoking." Matt replied bluntly, "And you technically just _suggested_ that I use the money food. You said I could get whatever I wanted, and this was what I wanted."

Mello glared at Matt, pissed that he had actually remembered that. "The plane's leaving soon," He grumbled, "That's what I came to tell you." With this said, he stalked off, leaving Matt with a cloud of guilt.

"Wait... Mello!" Mat got up and chased after his friend, "I'm sorry, okay? I had to... It-"

"It's fine; I get it..." Mello muttered, not looking at the other, "Just don't smoke in front of me... It really pisses me off."

Matt was silent for a moment, but eventually murmured, "Okay..."

Not long after this, the boys found themselves airborne once more... And not a single word was spoken between them for the entire flight. Though they had, for appearance's sake, made up, it was apparent that the issue still remained.


	5. Apartment search

I hope you're all enjoying the story so far... It's hard to tell without reviews... -hint hint wink wink-

* * *

The boys had both heard stories about L.A... But none of those stories could've prepared them for _this._The city seemed almost dead, though, they assumed, it was probably due to the timing. This city came to life at midnight, not noon. It was now twelve 'o clock... Wait, make that twelve 'o one... In the afternoon, and the city of lights was fast asleep. Their flight had been quite slow, as it wasn't a straight-shot from New York yo L.A. Apparently, Mello hadn't read the description closely enough, as they wound up stopping in Tennessee and Oklahoma along the way, but they eventually made it. As they walked through the deserted streets towards an ATM machine (which was conveniently placed right next to a casino... Go figure...) to retrieve their share of inheritance money, Matt still couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going through the bonde's head... So he asked. "Mello, what's wrong? You've hardly said two words to me since we got on the plane... Are you really that mad that I'm smoking?" He doubted that this was really true. He always turned the other cheek whenever Mello did something wrong, no matter how bad it was... So why wouldn't he do the same?

"It's not your fault. I'm just thinking." Mello mumbled, "But I'm still mad at you. Smoking is stupid..."

Matt sighed, "What are you thinking about?" He prodded, trying to remove himself from the conversation.

"Nothing." Mello replied, obviously lying.

"It's not nothing if you can't even talk about it..." Suddenly hatching a brainchild, Matt realized that he had somehow gotten stuck carrying all of their crap... Probably because Mello wanted to work the ATM by himself... But that didn't matter. "If you don't tell me..." He warned, holding Mello's tote bag up threateningly, "You'll never see your precious chocolate again."

"You wouldn't." Mello glared at him. Of course both of them knew that he could easily go buy more chocolate, but...

"Oh, look, there's a garbage can right here..." Striding over to the can, he dangled it over the hole in the top, "Tell me, Mello," He said peeling back one of his fingers as a warning.

"Okay, just give me my chocolate!" Mello snatched the bag away from his friend and cradled it to his chest. "I'm trying to figure out what we should do. I mean... Is it really a good idea to stay in a hotel for so long? We don't know how long we're going to be here..."

Matt pondered this for a moment. It was true... Hotel rooms tended to have thin walls, not to mention the fact that there was always an insane amount of people... Kids running in the halls, distracting them from their work... "We could rent an apartment..." He suggested with a shrug.

"That's what I was thinking..." Mello agreed, "But I'm not sure about _that _either... If somebody tracks us down-"

"Mello, you're being paranoid." Matt stated, "Don't think so much about it. No matter_ where _we go, there's a chance of somebody finding us. Unless you're planning on shopping for a cardboard box, we don't really have many other options."

This, Mello knew, was true... There really weren't many options... And an apartment was the best bet. "You have your laptop?"

Rolling his eyes at the question that should have been completely obvious to Mello, who had known him for so long, Matt asked sarcastically, "When _don't _I?"

"Go find an apartment somewhere near here." Mello commanded, "I don't care what kind, just as long as it's close and ready to move in."

"Why close?" Matt questioned curiously, though he carefully removed the laptop from his bag.

"Jet lag," Mello replied, sitting down on the wooden bench beside the trash can. Matt invited himself to sit down beside Mello and began to search. Luckily, the casino behind them apparently had free Wi-fi service, which Matt took full advantage of. The connection was painfully slow, as they weren't particularly _close _to the building, but they were close enough to get some signal.

It wasn't long before Matt gently poked Mallo's arm, "I found something," He said, turning the mini-computer slightly so the other could see, "It's actually right above this casino... Talk about convenient."

Mello ignored the description, deciding that Matt had probably already scanned it, and asked, "Is it-"

"Totally move-in ready, complete with furniture." Matt cut in, "_And _we'll probably even get a free Internet connection out of it, judging by the fact that it's working all the way out here."

Mello paused, apparently thinking about all of this, before asking, "How much?"

"Six hundred a month, plus a thousand for down-payment. It's not too bad; most of the places around here are upwards of a thousand dollars a month." Matt replied, "Well? Sold?"

"Sold," Mello confirmed, standing, "Does it say where we're supposed to go?"

After scanning the page for a few more minutes, Matt replied, "Yeah, there are stairs behind the casino that lead to the landlord's office." Without hesitation, Mello started off, following the sidewalk leading behind the building. It didn't take long to locate the stairs, and, soon enough, they were signing their last contract.

"Excuse me... Matt?" The landlord asked. The boys had only given him Matt's name, as "Mello" was more than questionable.

"Yes?" Matt glanced up at the older man, who was staring intently at the boy, studying his features.

"How old are you boys...? Apartments are only available to people ages eighteen and older, and, pardon my judgement, but... You look like you're only children."

Mello's head snapped up, and he gave the old man one of his trademark scowls, "I'm twenty four and he's twenty three. We just look young for our age."

"Right, then..." Apparently, Mello's look had been enough to scare the poor man off of their trail, and they couldn't help but hope that they'd seen the end of these questions.

Eventually, they were led to their apartment by the man. It was furnished, yes... But it was clear that someone with very poor decorating taste had been living here previously. It was floral-pattern heaven, and whatever didn't have a flowery design had an extremely tacky forest green color to it. Not that forest green was a bad color.... But on the ceiling? "It looks... Nice..." Matt forced himself to say.

"Yeah, nice for a blind person." Mello grumbled as the landlord finally left them. "What the hell is this dump, Matt?"

"Sorry, you said 'close and move-in ready,' not 'hip and modern.'" Matt reminded with a sigh, dragging one of the floral slip-covers off of the couch. It was actually a nice shade of maroon underneath, "Well, at least some of it's okay..." He glanced up at his friend, who was still scowling, and sighed, "Relax, Mello. It's not like we can't redecorate... At least we have somewhere to crash, right?"

"Speaking of, is there sometihng else you conveniently left out, concerning the _price?_" Mello prodded, apparently assuming that Matt hadn't been as honest as he thought.

"I'll sleep on the couch." Matt replied, holing his hands up in defeat. It was a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment... Which he _had _conveniently left out because he didn't want to be searching for hours trying to find somewhere that met Mello's precise requirements. This apartment life would defiantly take some getting used to.


	6. Phone

Well, my not so subtle hint that I want reviews obviously didn't work... Though maybe I _should _give it more than 48 hours... Oh well, I'm bored. Boredom/distraction from pain update!

* * *

Matt spent most of the day rearranging while Mello (after several complaints about how the bed smelled like perfume and Cheetos) slept. He quickly learned that all of the furniture matched underneath the floral slip-covers, and the red actually made a nice contrast against the green... It wasn't so bad... He shifted the furniture, which was, for some odd reason, all facing the kitchen, around to face the T.V., which faced a blank wall, and found, in the process, many petrified potato chips, and something that he didn't care to discover the former identity of. It took him several hours to get everything in logical places (and to clean up all of the messes the previous owner had so generously left behind), but, eventually, he finished, and was finally able to relax... Or so he thought... He flopped down on the over-stuffed sofa and pulled out his Nintendo DS, preparing for an intense hour of gaming, when he was interrupted by Mello, who had finally emerged from his room. "Matt,"

"Yes, Mello?" Matt turned his head slightly to look at the other.

"I think whoever lived here now live in an asylum." He announced, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"I was getting the same impression." Matt agreed, closing his gaming console (which hadn't even been turned on) and sitting up. "What did you find?"

"This," Mello held up a skull... From the looks of it, it was human, "Hanging from the toilet handle by it's eye sockets."

Matt blinked and stared at the skull, then at Mello. In an odd way, he actually looked good with a skull. It seemed almost natural... "From the toilet...?"

Mello threw the skull to his friend, who easily caught it, "Yes, the toilet. There was something wrong with that person."

"Well the T.V. facing the wall already put me on that trail..." Matt held the skull up, examining it. It was certainly human... Though the putrid odor coming off of it wasn't. Obviously, it wasn't done rotting yet. Crinkling his nose, he asked, "Should we take this to the cops...?"

Cringing at the thought if being near police, Mello mumbled, "No; not them. Bring it to the landlord if you must... I'm going back to bed." With this, Mello dismissed himself, and Matt sighed, standing and going outside to find the landlord. What else was he supposed to do? Put it in a fish bowl and ironically call it "Fluffy?"

"Umm... Mr. Reed?" Matt called into the man's office. The man gestured for him to come inside, but the red head decided against it. Instead, he stood in the doorway and held up the skull by it's eye, "Umm... We found this hanging off of the toilet handle."

After raising an eyebrow, Mr. Reed walked around his desk to Matt to observe the specimine. "I always did wonder why Mr. Andrews stopped coming outside... Alright, thank you for telling me, Matt... You can leave him on my desk." Clearly, the landlord didn't want to touch it.

"No problem." Matt gently placed the skull of Mr. Andrews on the desk, then left the landlord's office. When he arrived in the apartment, he found that Mello had apparently given up on sleeping, as he was currently trying to find something interesting on T.V.. "Mello? Did you find any more bones?" He asked, trying to make fun of the situation.

"Not yet. What did Reed say?" He asked, not really in the mood for humor. He was still tired, and pretty mad at Matt for not telling the whole truth about the apartment.

Sighing, Matt sat down on the couch beside Mello, "Not much..." He admitted, "But I wouldn't be surprised to find _more _bones..." When this received no response from Mello, he reached into the other's still unpacked bag at his feet and held out a bar of chocolate as a peace offering. Mello snatched it out of his hand without sparing him a glance. "You're seriously still mad at me? How was I supposed to know some crazy lady lived here?"

Mello was silent for a few moments. Yes, he was a little bit mad at the other... But there was something else there that he couldn't quite put his finger on. "Yes, I'm still mad at you. You could've looked into it a little bit more." When Matt opened his mouth to protest, he added, "But I'm _more _pissed about _this_." He pulled the packet of cigarettes that Matt had slowly been drawing out of his pocket away, and threw it at the T.V. across the room.

Matt frowned, eyeing the box, then looking back at Mello, "What's so terrible about it?"

"Let's see... Early death, cancer, smoker's cough, terrible breath-"

"Okay, okay!" Matt cut him off, "That wasn't my point! I mean, why is it that after all the times I've looked the other way for you, you can't cut me slack on this one little thing?" Usually, he wouldn't dare challenge his friend like this, but, right now, he felt it somehow necessary.

"Little? Wasting brain cells on video games is _little_, Matt, smoking is _big_." Mello snarled, his voice rising a little bit as he tore the packaging off of his beloved chocolate with his teeth.

Matt huffed, and sat back against the couch, deciding it wasn't worth the argument. He'd let Mello win for now. As he pulled out his GameBoy, he watched Mello shut off the television and stand, reaching inside of his pocket for his cellphone.

"Calling someone?" Matt questioned curiously as the blonde flipped it open.

"Don't worry about it." Mello told him, annoyed, as he went off to his room.

Matt returned his attention back to the screen, knowing it would be best to let Mello mellow out a bit before he braved another conversation with him. Soon after, his own phone (which was charging on the table with Mello's charger... Luckily, they had the same style of phone...) began to ring. Wondering who would be calling him and why, he pulled it out. "Near...?" Hesitantly, he answered it, "Near? What is it?"

"Have you found Mello?" Near's ever-calm voice asked.

After thinking about his answer carefully, Matt replied, "I have... Why do you ask?"

"I was curious as to why you would be in LosAngelas..." Near replied softly, and Matt could practically see him twisting his hair around his finger in the fashion that irked Mello to no end.

"...Mello wanted to come here..." He'd forgotten that his phone could be traced... They probably should've gotten that fixed... Whoops.

"That's what I thought..." Near confirmed, "I have a message for Mello."

"What's that?" Matt asked, ignoring the fact that he knew he was being used as a messenger between the rivals. He'd probably wind up calling Near back with a response from Mello.

"Tell him that he's wrong... He should understand what I mean by that." Near said quietly, "Also... Please tell him that I would like to keep in touch."

"Something tells me he won't go for that, but I will." Matt mumbled, knowing that it would be best to relay the whole message anyway. Even if he doubted Mello would want it, he knew it would be good to have the option. "Anything else?"

"No... That is all." Near murmured, though, after a thoughtful pause, he added, "Please ask Mello to be careful."

"I will..." Matt replied, then said a quick good-bye and hung up as Mello walked out of his room again.

"Matt...? Who were you talking to?" He asked curiously, his tone a bit threatening.

"Near," Matt replied, being as direct as he could, "He wanted me to tell you to keep in touch, be careful, and that you're wrong, whatever that means..." He went in the order that he thought would be the least likely to cause Mello to tune out the rest, and it somehow actually worked.

"I'm wrong..." He scoffed, knowing exactly what it had meant. "I'm not wrong. L would've wanted him, not me." He stated, sitting down with Matt, "You know it too, don't you, Matt?"

"I don't know," Matt mumbled, remaining neutral, "It's hard to tell when he didn't make a decision himself..."

"Near thinks we should work together," Mello growled, "Can you believe that? And _Roger _suggested it! Shouldn't he know by now that Near and I _hate _each other?!"

"Shocking." Matt mumbled, returning to his abandoned GameBoy. As far as he was concerned, it was just another one of Mello's rants. He already knew as much about the situation as he cared to, so the rest of the shouting was more or less ignored, and, though Mello knew this, he overlooked it. Most of it was just venting anyway, though he would never admit it.

After several minutes of bitching and moaning, Mello finally said Matt's name, getting his attention once more. "Matt,"

"What?" The gamer glanced up at his friend, hoping that he wouldn't just start ranting some more.

"Did you tell him where we are?" Mello asked. He'd already pieced together the fact that Near knew they were together... Otherwise he probably wouldn't have asked Matt to tell him what he'd said... Though it _was _possible he was simply expecting him to call...

"No, I didn't tell him. He figured it out on his own." Matt said with a sigh, "We forgot to make our phones un-traceable." He reminded quietly.

"Damn Near." Mello spat, glaring at his friend's phone on the table.

"Well? I told you who I was talking to... Your turn. Who were you talking to?" Matt prodded, finally turning the system off.

"Nobody," Mello mumbled, obviously lying. Matt wasn't going to push his luck, however, so he remained silent and watched as Mello unwrapped yet another chocolate bar, which was, presumably, what he had originally come out to get. Yes... Apartment life would take some getting used to.


	7. LA, the City of Angels

Today's rant: Beta reading is fun. It is, truly. My dear friend, Kyoka, is currently working on a random one-shot idea that she came up with on a whim while talking to me... Actually, it's up now. I've just procrastinated for so long coming up with this new chapter... I wanted to read the Los Angeles BB Murder Case first.... So... Yeah, back to talking about her one-shot. I won't give away the details, but... It made me smile... And I read 1,069 words for a whole hour, beta reading. Seriously, I was that bored. I think I did a pretty good job, too, if I do say so myself... She's given me a partial re-write of it, so, I'll be beta-ing that too, as soon as I get out of lunch and back into the boring classrooms. Ick... WELL anyway, I guess I've gotten off topic a bit... On with the story! Also, I just realized... In the beginning of the last chapter, I said DS, then it somehow became GameBoy... 0_o Welll.... I'll stick with GameBoy.

"Mello...?" Matt asked after they had sat in silence for quite some time. He wanted to play GameBoy, but, as it turned out, Mello had shifted ever-so-slightly, and so, he was now sitting on it. When he received no response, he continued, "What are you thinking about?" He knew something was on the other's mind... Matt was sure the fact that he was sitting on Matt's beloved gaming console was no accident. He generally tended to (or at least _try _to) block access to games when he had something important to say... That much Matt had already figured out... But the real question was, why wasn't he saying anything? When Mello still didn't say anything, Matt sighed and said, "If you don't have anything to say, stop holding my GameBoy hostage. It's not fair."

"Matt… Do you remember what happened here, before the Kira case…?" Mello asked, glancing over at his friend.

It all clicked into place at once, and Matt, without realizing it, spoke this aloud, "The L.A. BB Murder Cases… Where Beyond Birthday was caught and died…"

"Right," Mello agreed, adding a part of what Matt hadn't quite been able to put together, "Isn't it fitting? We're fighting against the one who _won _against L in the town where the only person who was ever a suitable rival for L died."

Matt glanced over at Mello and noticed the cross glistening around his neck. The sun was setting, and it hit the accessory just right… "…But that's not it either, is it Mello? That's just a part of it, right?" Mello eyed Matt curiously, silently encouraging him to continue, "Los Angeles… The city of Angels… _L._A." He stressed the letter that their mentor used so frequently, "_L…_ A… _L's _Angel, right? L's angel is looking over us… No, both of them are… Am I on the right track…?"

"Like _I _would care about some sappy shit like that!" Mello argued, glaring at Matt… But Matt could tell he was just being defensive because he had completely hit the nail on the head… Perhaps Mello was more sentimental than he wanted to be? "L.A. is also a major mafia-ridden area. _That's_ the _real_ other reason."

"You _can't_ be serious." Matt mumbled, not liking where this train of thought was going in the slightest. It had somehow gone from remembering the lives of their mentor and their predecessor to joining the mafia. Was this some kind of bad joke…?

"You think if I throw around my knowledge of BB's crimes enough I'll be able to gain some influence?" Mello asked in response to Matt… Of course this had been a rhetorical question, and Matt treated it as such.

"Mello, do you have any idea how _dangerous_ those people are?" Matt asked, countering with another rhetorical question. Fight fire with fire, as they say…

"Do you have any idea how _stupid _those goons are? They'll be so easy to manipulate it'll be painful, Matt, it's _perfect._ You'll see." The blonde told him.

"That's it, you've officially lost it. If, on the odd chance, there's actually a smart person mixed in there, and he figures out what you're up to, you'll be royally screwed." Matt stated bluntly.

"If somebody figures me out, I'll shoot them dead. I'm not saying you have to get involved… But this is my plan." When Matt gave him a questioning glance, Mello punched him in the shoulder playfully, "And as for _you_… You'll be my right-hand man behind the scenes. Alright?"

Matt sighed, he detested the idea of working with the mafia, but he didn't have much choice but to go along with Mello. "Promise you'll be careful?"

Mello rolled his eyes, "I'll be careful, Matt." He didn't feel like he should really have to say this, but, at the same time, he felt like if he didn't, Matt would just act like an annoying, worried mother hen… And Mello really didn't want to deal with that.

A silence fell between them, and they both knew instinctively what it meant. Matt _hated_ the idea of working with the mafia, but he knew he couldn't stop Mello if that was what he really wanted to do. After a time, Mello removed Matt's GameBoy (which, as Matt had suspected _was_ being held hostage) and handed it back to it's rightful owner, who snatched it back to his chest, finally finding his words again with the return of his beloved machine. "I still don't like it, Mello… But I don't have a choice." He knew he was stating the obvious, but he felt it had to be said, "It doesn't mean I'm going anywhere though… I'm _not _going anywhere near the mafia, but I'll still help you." Mello said nothing, understanding. He'd really rather that Matt _didn't_ go with him anyway. The mafia was no place for a gaming nerd… Granted a chocoholic wasn't exactly a perfect candidate either, but it was better… Besides, what it all boiled down to was that Mello actually had _some_ people skills. Matt simply _didn't_. He'd hurt more than he helped if he went along, and probably, in the end, wind up killed by one of the goons. It was better for everyone if Matt stayed in the safety of this out-dated apartment, no matter how much he hated it.

It was no more than a few minutes later when Mello left... And Matt knew all too well where he was going... But, he decided, he wasn't going to let anything bad happen to Mello... Even if he wasn't there to protect him directly.

* * *

My, what _ever _could Matt be planning? XD I feel evil... Oh, and one last thing before I go~ updates may be few and far between for awhile. I'm apparently grounded because my dad went back on his word, so... Yeah... I'll try to update when I can, but, just know that they probably won't be as often as I'd like them to be... And for once, I can't blame it on my laziness.


	8. You want me to do WHAT!

Well, I don't know about you, had a totally badass weekend. I was with Kyoka-chan and Tori-chan at the boat... And I helped Kyoka-chan write the first chapter about Beyond Birthday's past. Hehe, she's so silly.

* * *

It wasn't that Matt didn't trust Mello... It was just that he knew him to be extremely reckless at times, and this would be one of those times. Matt kept telling himself it was for Mello's own good as he reached for the phone hesitantly, dialing the number of the only person he could think to call. "...Matt...?" Near's mechanically enhanced voice spoke softly through the receiver.

"Near," Matt replied in kind, not bothering with plesantries. He knew they would be wasted on Near.

"It's interesting that you should call at this point in time," Near commented vaguely, "I was actually just thinking about calling you myself."

"Oh?" This was a bit surprising to Matt. What did Near want with him? "Why's that?" He asked, temporarily forcing himself to ignore the fact that _he_ had been the one to call _Near_.

"I was thinking about my future," Near replied, again, being extremely vague, though this time he clarified after a pause, "About catching Kira..."

"Is that so? What about him?" Matt ased, suddenly losing interest. He was helping _Mello _catch Kira, not _Near._

"I think I may join you and Mello in America." He said after another moment of silence.

Matt blinked, "You're coming to America? Why?" He asked incredulously.

There was another long pause, in which Matt had enough time to go retrieve his pack of cigarettes, light one, and return to the couch where the phone- now on speaker- waited. Yes, it really took that long for Near to respond. "I find it necessary," Near finally admitted, "I believe that if I stay here, I may put Wammy's in danger, on the off chance that Kira is able to locate me... And the President of the United States seems to be against Kira... For now, at least. I may be able to receive some assistance from the government if I go there."

Matt sighed. That was all true... Especially now that Near posessed the title of the world's top three detectives. There was still something that was bothering him though. "Okay... So why are you telling me this? To get under Mello's skin?"

"No, you know I don't care about that..." Another pause. "I would like to as for your assistance, Matt."

Staring at the phone in disbelief, he asked, "How?" He utterly confused. How could he, lowly number three, possibly help Near... And how did his pathetic call for help become Near's slightly less pathetic call for help?

"I would like to speak with the president before I go to America... But, unfortunatley, I do not know his e-mail address." _Or AIM account_, Matt mentally added, though he allowed Near to continue. "Even if L has it hidden somewhere and I were to find it, the chance of him recieving it is literally zero percent. I am certain he has spam blockers that will ignore messages from unknown senders... And he is far too busy to answer a phone call or a letter, so e-mail is really my only option without meeting him in person... So my question to you is, will you hack into the President's personal computer and give him the message for me? Posing as L, of course... I would ask someone else, but, you are the most qualified person I know, Matt, and I would rather not place such an important task on someone who I am unable to trust..."

Matt yet again found himself staring at the phone in disbelief. The thought of posing as L alone was nearly enough to make his tidy-whites turn brown and smelly! "Is that all?" He squeaked dryly, attempting sarcasm. Apparently, he'd forgotten that Near's sense of humor is almost non-existent.

"Yes, I believe that will be all... But you had something to say to me, Matt?" This reminded Matt of who called who, and he nodded, ignoring the fact that he looked like a total idiot nodding to a phone.

"Yeah, I actually had a favor to ask you, too," He admitted, pretending not to notice that this was the second time in a week that he'd asked Near for help. "Mello has apparently decided that the solution to finding Kira is joining the mafia... So, I was wondering... Is it possible for you to keep an eye on him...?"

There was a pause, but Near eventually murmured, "Yes... I will have a video feed for you by tomorrow." Matt was about to ask how Near planned on pulling that off, but he stopped himself. Better not to question the almighty Near. "Is that all you need, Matt?"

"Yes... Thank you," Matt replied, and they mutually hung up without another word... And Matt was suddenly very grateful for the cigarette that currently rested between his fingers. "Fuck." He threw the phone away from himself, realizing what he had just agreed to. He was going to hack into what was probably one of the highest-security computers in the world, just to say "Hi," from Near?! It was almost impossible-- not to mention EXTREMLEY illegal, to hack into the President's computer. This was going to be hell... Not to mention Mello... Oh hell, he'd almost forgotten about Mello! He could only work on hacking when Mello wasn't around... That would suck. How was he supposed to keep a secret that big from him? This would truly be hell. As if on cue, Matt's phone rang again. He scrambled across the room to answer it, but, in the meantime, he choked on some of his own second-hand smoke. He pressed the phone to his ear and, hacking, asked, "Hello?"

"Matt-" Mello's voice was excited at first, but anger filled it moments later, "Are you smoking again?"

"No..." Matt lied, though he could practically feel Mello's accusing glare boring into his skin. "Yes..." He admitted, quckly changing the subject, "So, what happened?"

Mello sighed, clearly annoyed at the sudden subject change, replied, "...We're in. That's what I was calling to tell you. Apparently they both admired and feared Beyond Birthday, so they made me their leader."

"They made you their...? That's interesting. It makes you sound like an evil war-lord." Matt commented, attempting to add humor to this otherwise solemn conversation... Unfortunatley, Mello wasn't in the mood.

"Yeah, I'll be home soon." With this, the phone line clicked, and Matt sighed, putting his cigarette out on the carpet, no longer in the mood to smoke. Mello was obviously pissed, which only added even more problems to his ever-growing list.


	9. What's in the bag?

13 11! 13 11! 13 11!!!!!!!!!!!!

* * *

It took Mello about an hour to get home... Apparently, walking was still slower than driving... And he was not in a very pleasant mood. He tossed himself down on the couch, which Matt had temporarily abandoned to let Mello in, and heaved a sigh. It was then that Matt noticed the brown paper lunch bag in his hands. "Mello...? What's that?" He asked curiously, walking over to the couch.

Mello tossed the bag over his shoulder and grunted, "Garbage." The so-called 'garbage' landed on the floor with a crash. Matt sighed. He usually wasn't the neat freak type, in fact, he was quite the opposite... But whatever the 'garbage' was sounded breakable, and the last thing he needed to add to his stressful week was a trip to the emergency room, so he decided to clean it up.

As he bent over the bag, he noticed a familiar smell... One from his early childhood, so early that he couldn't quite place it... He peered inside the bag curiously and spotted a shiny wrapper... Which wouldn't have been surprising, as Mello tended to leave his chocolate wrappers _everywhere..._but this didn't look like a chocolate wrapper... No, it wasn't even aluminum foil... He pulled it out of the bag to get a better look and realized that it wasn't a wrapper at all, but rather a label... The label of the bottle that now lay shattered in the bag... The bottle that was once full of Captain Morgan. But that wasn't _all_ that Matt noticed. The bag wasn't _wet..._ implying that the bottle had been empty _before_Mello threw it. "Mello, you didn't..." He glanced over at his friend who was still lying on the couch. He knelt down in front of Mello, "Let me smell your breath," He said calmly... But Mello turned his head away. "Mello, come _on_."

"I don't have to explain myself to _you_!" Mello snapped angrily turning to face Matt, who fell backwards, covering his nose. Yep, Mello completely _reeked_of alcohol. "I was thirsty from walking so much!"

Matt sighed, sitting up again, though now a safe distance away from Mello, "Mello, there's a McDonald's on every other corner. Don't _tell_ me there was nothing else to drink."

"I already _had_this! It was a gift from the mafia." Mello stated, his words slurred and almost incoherent.

_Well, who knew the mafia was so generous..._ Matt thought, but he quickly shook the sarcasm away and asked, "Did you drink _all_ of this by yourself?"

"I just told you, I don't have to--" Mello stopped speaking in an instant and covered his mouth. Matt knew what was wrong. It was obvious. He stood up and helped Mello to the bathroom, where he promptly draped himself over the toilet.

"Mello, your body isn't used to alchohol... It was stupid to drink so much at once for the first time." Matt sat down beside Mello and traced small circles on his back, attempting to comfort him. Of course this was something he would be insane to consider if Mello were sober, but while drunk and hurling, he wasn't much of a threat. "_Why_did you do that, Mello? You _know_it was stupid, I know you do. Why-" He was cut off by a weight falling on his shoulder. Mello, apparently, was finished throwing up, and saw Matt as the perfect body pillow. Matt sighed again, "Mello... You shouldn't drink... It kills your brain."

"...Smoking..." Mello had mumbled some other words around this, but they were so slurred that Matt couldn't understand any of it.

"_What?"_ He asked, confused.

"I said, you're one to talk. You're always smoking now..." Mello clarified, though it was still a bit slurred.

"You're just not going to give that up, are you? It's not like I'm chain smoking... And besides, it doesn't hurt my brain, just my lungs. Much less important." He smiled at his own pathetic joke, then attempted to stand... Apparently, drunken Mello had other plans, as he clung onto Matt's shirt tightly. "Mello...?"

"Don't leave." Mello mumbled, clinging on more tightly. Matt Math: Mello + Alcohol = Clingyness.

"Come on, Mello, I'm just going to get a washcloth for your face, I'm not going anywhere." Matt assured him, again, trying to get up, which again, caused Mello to hold on tighter.

"You're lying... You're going to leave me to smoke..." Mello mumbled, his slurring now even more incoherent with his face buried in Matt's shirt.

"I'm not going to leave you, Mello," Matt said gently, though he finally decided to give up. Sighing, he glanced down at the blonde who was now sprawled out across his lap. "Mello...?" He decided to test a theory... Maybe drunken Mello was not only clingy, but bad at keeping sober Mello's secrets. "Why didn't you leave for the U.S. right after you got out of Wammy's?" This was met with more mumbling. "Okay, now can you say that in _sober_ English, please?"

"I didn't want you to leave..." Mello muttered, though this made even _less_ sense than the mumbling that came before.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked, confused.

"I wanted you to stay at Wammy's 'cause you'd be safe there... But I wanted you to come with me..." He still wasn't making much sense, but it was a little bit more logical... Or, at the very least, it sounded like _Mello_ logic.

"So what did you want _more?"_

Mello was silent for a moment, like he was trying to decide if he should or should not answer the question, but he eventually decided he would. "I wanted you to stay with me... But I wanted you to stay at Wammy's... I wanted both the same... So I was leaving it up to you. I would wait around for an hour, then haul ass out of there... And if you went back when I told you to, I'd leave you." Matt smiled. He _had_ been right. Mello was waiting for him after all... And he knew for a fact that it was over an hour before he found Mello. Mello had _wanted_ him to follow... "So don't leave me now, Matt..."

"I'm not going anywhere." Matt assured the drunken, insecure Mello. It wasn't long after this that Mello passed out on Matt's lap, and Matt carried him in an awkward piggy-back ride to his bed. Sighing, Matt decided to lie down with Mello. On the off chance that Mello woke up while still drunk, or remembered their conversation, he wouldn't be very happy if he left... Though Matt knew Mello wouldn't be pleased if he woke up sober and found Matt in bed with him, but Matt could stand to take a few hits. He was pretty tired himself, anyway, so it didn't take long to fall asleep.


	10. Compromising position?

Several hours had passed before Matt finally woke up... Even then, Mello was still passed out, drooling, even. It was comical to see someone who always tried to look so bad ass _drooling_in his sleep. Matt smiled slightly, amused, then lightly poked Mello's side. "Mello, get up," He muttered.

"Mmmgh." Mello batted Matt's hand away, "Whaddya want?" Judging by the slurring of Mello's words, Matt could tell that he was still pretty drunk.

"I wanted to make sure you're still alive," Matt replied with a sigh, "Do you want me to stay here, or leave you alone?" This question was met with silence, and Matt soon found that Mello had passed out again. "...Wonderful." He mumbled sarcastically, lying down again. He _would_start working on his little 'project' for Near, but he was a bit afraid of what might happen if he left Mello alone. According to the clock on the nightstand, the time was currently 8:01... Though Matt wasn't sure how reliable that was, considering all of the other crazy things the lady had done. Fortunately for him though, he didn't have to wait _too_long for Mello to wake up. It was around nine-thirty (again, according to the clock,) when the blonde finally began to stir of his own free will. Granted an hour and a half had been a long time to lie awake with nothing to do, Matt was satisfied with it. "Mello?"

Mello covered his face with a pillow, "Water." He mumbled, "And Aspirin." Matt was pretty sure what was meant by that. Mello the bad ass had a hang-over. Ever the obedient one, Matt poured a glass of tap-water for Mello and pulled a bottle of Aspirin out of the cabinet. Surprisingly, the woman had glasses and pain killers in stock. It seemed a bit strange that the cleaning crew hadn't disposed of it... Though, then again, it was strange that they hadn't disposed of the skull, either. Maybe it was just that nobody had been in here since she left. Whatever the case may be, Matt returned to Mello's side and left the pain medicine and water on the nightstand. Mello apparently heard him set it down, as he snatched up the pills and the water, stuffing the pills in his mouth and swallowing hurriedly. He flopped back against the pillow, letting the now empty glass roll out of his hand and off the bed where it hit the ground with a crash. Yet another mess of glass for Matt to clean up.

"...Are you feeling alright?" Matt questioned, but Mello simply covered his ears in response. "Ah, right, headache..." Matt sighed, not really wanting to leave Mello's side. He wasn't sure if he remembered the conversation or not, but he didn't want to risk it... And he didn't want to risk asking, either, so, instead, he tested the waters by lying down beside Mello once again. Mello glared at him, but refrained from throwing anything, so Matt deemed it safe to stay where he was.

Surprisingly, it was _Mello_who spoke next, though it took him quite awhile to speak... Almost another half an hour, actually. "Why are you still here?" He asked, finally looking over at Matt again. He'd turned away after flashing a glare at him earlier, apparently thinking the silent treatment would scare him off.

Matt shrugged, not really sure if he should mention the insecure, drunken Mello he had encountered earlier. "I felt like it... Why did you drink an _entire bottle_ of Captain Morgan's _by yourself_?"

Mello rolled over completely to face Matt, "Because I felt like it." He replied blatantly, sounding a bit like a lazy mother saying 'because I said so.'

Matt sighed, "Okay, and I might believe that if you were a complete dumb ass, but you're not. So let's have a _real_ answer."

Mello shot him an annoyed look, apparently not willing to answer that question any time soon. Instead, he changed the subject. "You never answered me."

"Neither did you," Matt countered. Yes, Mello could be stubborn, but Matt could be, too, especially when he really wanted something... And right now, he _really_wanted to know what had possessed Mello to drink like that. "Mello, come on, just tell me."

"I don't have to tell you _everything, _Matt." Mellohissed, scowling.

"True," Matt agreed, an idea beginning to form in his head, spawned from the information that drunken Mello had shared with him, "Maybe you're right. You don't need me at all, do you, Mello? My time would be better wasted trying to help Near." He rolled onto his back, grinning, "I'll just mind my own business and leave you alone. That what you want?"

Mello glared at Matt and sat up suddenly, "What did I say to you earlier?!" He snapped, staring down at his friend.

"Oh, not much. You threw up and passed out, and mumbled a few incoherent words." Matt replied, still grinning. Who knew he had an evil streak?

"What were the incoherent words, Matt?" He prodded, apparently assuming that Matt had been able to make them out.

Matt shrugged, "I don't have to tell you _everything, _Mello." That made something snap inside Mello. He _hated _having his own words used against him. In a matter of seconds, he had Matt pinned to the bed, his arms held above his head in a somewhat compromising position, though Matt really didn't seem to care. He just met Mello's gaze (through his goggles, of course,) feeling perfectly safe.

"_Matt_," Mello spat, "What did I tell you?"

"Well, judging by your reaction, the truth, apparently." Matt replied with a small smile. Mello didn't want him to leave after all... So he could assume that everything else drunken Mello said was true as well.

"That doesn't answer my question!" Mello growled, tightening his grip on Matt's wrist to the point where it actually began to hurt.

"You told me not to leave you, satisfied?" Matt grumbled, hoping that saying this would at least get Mello to loosen his grip. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. Mello's grip actually grew even tighter, and now Matt found himself wincing, "Mello, let _go_, that _hurts!_"

"Is that _all_I said?" Mello asked, still not letting go.

"_Yes,_ dammit, now let me _go!"_Mello did this time and sat up, sort of straddling Matt, though Matt knew it wasn't meant to be taken in a sexual way... He was just making sure Matt wouldn't leave. "So what's your other big secret?" Matt now asked, growing a bit bolder.

"Shut up!" Mello snapped, glaring at his friend who lie more or less helpless beneath him. They were silent for a moment, though the tension still hung in the air like a bad smell. Finally, he asked, "...You're not really going with Near, are you?"

"No!" Matt replied without hesitation, "Of course not! You're not getting rid of me that easily." He was almost hurt that Mello would even think that he was serious... But at the same time, he knew he was just trying to reassure himself. Mello finally got off of Matt and began walking towards the door. "Mello...?" Matt called after him nervously.

"I'm just going to get water. Get over yourself." Mello mumbled, glancing back at Matt, "Despite whatever I may have said when I was drunk, I'm not worried about you leaving, so don't worry about _me_ either." With this, he left the room and Matt smiled. Mello had, of course, said this in a spiteful tone... But Matt knew he cared. He'd known Mello too long to _not_ figure that out.

* * *

Today's rant is not really a rant, I just wanted to tell you all about a comical dream I had... Which has no relation to the story what-so-ever except for the fact that Mello is in it. Here goes:

I woke up, (in the dream) and I was late for school. Having already missed the bus by an hour and a half, I called my grandma to ask for a ride. So she started driving me to school, but I somehow wound up back at home instead of school. Wonderful. So I decided to say "screw school, I'm taking a personal day," and flipped on the T.V. It was some random cartoon that I don't think really even exists, but that's beside the point. Something flew out of the T.V.... And I ate it. Why, I don't know, but I did. The next thing I knew, I was rocketing through the air, and I landed in some really old-looking school that I've never seen in my life... So I wandered around for awhile, and I spotted a balloon. My natural response was to say, "Ooohhh! A balloon!" and go running up to it. "Yay! A balloon! ...That's eating... Chocolate...?! WTF?!" Yes, that's right, the fucking _balloon_was eating chocolate. Now, from this point until the end of my dream, when I say 'arm' I mean the string of the balloon, because that's what it was using to stuff it's face with. So, again, my natural response was, "Tee-hee... The balloon's eating chocolate... Chocolate... Like Mello. XD" So the balloon turns around and starts yelling at me (mind you, this is a 'Happy Birthday' balloon) in Mello's voice.

Mello-balloon: "How the fuck do you know my name, stalker?!"

Me: 0_o "It TALKS?! Hehe, it sounds like Mello..."

Mello: I _AM_Mello, who the hell are you?!"

Me: *legasp* "...SQUEE!" *clings to Mello's arm* "Where's your next class, Mello?!"

Mello: *ballonified twitch* "I'm not telling you, stalker!"

Me: "...Meanie."

So Mello wound up ditching school, and I was still following him... At a distance because I didn't want chocolate thrown at me. I'd figured that it didn't matter that I was ditching school at this point because it technically wasn't my school to begin with. Anyway, eventually, Mello-balloon turns around.

Mello: "Why the hell are you _still_ following me?! I'm going home now, so leave me _ALONE!"_

Me: "SQUEE! That means I get to meet Matty and Near!" *glomps Mello's arm again*

Mello: *balloonified twitch* "Screw you!"

So, Mellofloated out of my reach and dropped a cage over me, then ditched me. Suddenly, L comes along!

Me: "OMG!!! L! Save me! Mello's a bully!"

L: 0_o "I don't know why you're in that cage, but I can tell you this... If I were to free you, there is a nintey-nine percent chance that you will be turned into a balloon."

(L's not a balloon, he's normal.)

Me: "...WTF?! I knew Wammy's was for gifted kids, but I didn't know they were _magical!_"

Anyway, L let me out, I turned into a balloon, I got to follow him to Wammy's (YAY!) and we all lived happily ever after... Except for Mello, who got yelled at by Roger for letting out the Wammy secret. XD


	11. Secret agent Matt?

UGH! My school is full of immature dumbasses, I _SWEAR!!_ There are very, _very_few people in this school with decent brains in their heads. Okay, so I wrote "WTF" on the board in Math (we were all writing on the board as practice) because I was confused, right? So, this dumbass is like "Hey, she wrote something vulgar on the board!" ... Seriously, was that _really_necessary? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great that you know how to use a big word like 'vulgar,' but... (Yes, I _know_I was being immature by writing it on the board in the first place, and I'll be the first one to admit that I'm immature, but at least it's above the maturity level of the person who decided to tattle.) Anyway, that's my semi-angry rant for the day. I promise I won't take it out on poor Matty... He's got enough crap on his plate. XD

* * *

When Matt felt it safe, he ventured out of the bedroom and into the living room where Mello was currently sitting, watching the news... Probably more crap about Kira, but Matt didn't care about that. He was only focused on one thing right now... Well, okay, make that two. Those things were: getting his GameBoy and managing to sneak past Mello with his laptop so he could start hacking into the President's computer. As terrible as that sounds, he really _was_doing it for a good reason. Unfortunately, he hadn't taken two steps out of the room before Mello asked, "Matt, what are you skulking around for?"

Matt froze, "I thought you were sleeping," He lied, knowing that this was a terrible excuse even before Mello turned an accusing glare on him.

"You suck at lying. What are you trying to do? Run away and join the circus?" Yes, this _could_be seen as a lame, over-used joke... Or it could be Mello referring to Near as the circus... Either way, he was wrong.

"No, I was looking for my GameBoy." This, at least, was part of the truth... And it was believable, too... Though it still didn't answer Mello's original question, so he decided to jump to another conclusion.

"And your cigarettes?" He added, narrowing his gaze.

Matt sighed, deciding to prefer the verbal abuse that would come from health risks to the verbal (and possibly physical) abuse of announcing that he was going to help Near. "You caught me," He held his hands up, surrendering for something that he was not even guilty of. Mello glared at him for a moment in silence, then returned his attention to the television. Matt stared at him, confused, "...You're not going to yell at me? Are you feeling okay?"

"No, there's just no point in arguing. You're obviously hiding something, and you're not going to tell me what it is no matter _how_I try to force it out of you." Mello replied, making Matt feel quite guilty. For a moment, he even considered calling the whole deal with Near off... But then he remembered what _he _was getting out of it and pushed the thought aside.

"I'm going to help you," Matt mumbled, getting Mello's attention once again. "But I won't be able to unless I do something you won't like..."

"What's that, Matt?" Mello turned the rest of his body, now, so that he was completely facing Matt. Apparently, he thought Matt would actually spill all of the details.

"...I can't tell you." He muttered, suddenly seeming to find the floor quite interesting.

"Why the hell _not?!_" Mello snapped, standing up so fast he almost knocked the couch over.

"I just _can't!_" Matt told him, trying to match his tone, "I'm telling you, you'd be even _more_ pissed than you are now if I told you! You have your secrets, I have mine!"

"I don't care about _secrets!_ Matt, just tell me, are you helping Near or not?!"

Dumbfounded, Matt blinked, staring at Mello. Trying to play it off as a joke, Matt asked, "What are you talking about, Mello?"

"You wouldn't be so evasive if it didn't have something to do with _him!_ So what is it?!"

Matt looked away. There was no way he could keep it a secret now... "I'm helping him get the President's attention."

"What do you mean 'get the President's attention?' Why does he need that?"

"...He wants to come to America, too." Mello was about to say something, but Matt held his hand up to cut him off, "Because he wants to protect Wammy's!"

"..." That was easy enough for Mello to understand. "So what does he want you to- wait, don't tell me-"

"He wants me to hack the President's computer to send him an e-mail."

That little announcement seemed to irk Mello. "Why the _fuck_ would you do that, Matt?!" He growled. Okay... Perhaps 'irk' was a bit of an understatement... He was totally pissed.

"Because he's doing me a favor too!" Matt snapped back, "I told you, I'm going to help you, but I have to help Near first!" Little did Matt know this would only make Mello's mood even worse.

"Near's _ALWAYS_ first!" He was beyond screaming now, and Matt was pretty sure the entire apartment complex was awake... Hopefully they wouldn't get booted out. "Screw Near, let him find his own way of getting to the President, you're _not_ going to help him!"

"But, Mello-!"

"I said you're _not!"_Mello was now using the tone that clearly stated, 'this conversation is over,' but Matt wasn't ready to give up on it just yet. As previously stated, he could be stubborn, too.

"Then you're not joining the goddamn mafia!" Matt retorted, "Sit down, shut up, and swallow your pride for once! I'm _trying_ to help you! I'm not on his side, I'm on _yours,_ but I can't do it unless I help Near! Just this once-"

"So what _is _his end of the bargain, Matt?" Mello hissed, now growing more curious, "You've been avoiding that, too."

That was something Matt _couldn't _do. That part was his idea... And since he was already taking a verbal beating for himself and Near, he couldn't afford to let that slip. "...I can't tell you, Mello, just _trust me!_"

"I trust _you,_ I don't trust _Near!"_Mello corrected, "He's just using you, Matt! You're just a pawn to help him get what he wants, you won't get _anything_ in return!"

"...He's not using me, Mello," Matt mumbled, trying to remain calm for both of them. He knew Mello was just holding a childish grudge against Near, and he probably didn't really even know what he was saying anymore, as it was all a natural response to the name... So there was really no reason to even listen to him. "He'll keep his word."

"How do _you_know that?!" Mello growled, though he seemed to be running out of steam now.

"I just do! You may not trust him, but I do, Mello. You're the one that didn't want to work with him, remember? I doubt he would really mind helping us." Matt replied, successfully tweaking yet another one of the blonde's nerves.

"Fine, go follow him around then!" Mello snapped, "I don't need you anyway!"

"That's not what I said!" It hurt Matt to hear this, though he knew it wasn't how Mello really felt. Mello often said stupid things in the heat of the moment, and Matt was well aware of this... But it was still painful. "I'm just helping Near this one time for _your_sake, then I'll never do anything for him again, okay?" Mello didn't respond to this, and Matt didn't really care. Knowing that his message got across was enough. After gathering his laptop and GameBoy, Matt skulked back off to the bedroom, only faintly aware of the fact that the room was technically _Mello's_ safe-haven.

* * *

Damn, I make them fight alot, don't I? Well, I guess I lied about not taking my anger out on poor Matty. My fingers and my brain don't always get along so well. XD


	12. dear Mr President

Okay, so, the president in here is the same president that was used in Death Note... It's not our current president or any of our former presidents, because frankly, not even Bush was as big a dumb ass as Hoope. That's saying something. XD (I'm anti-_all_ politics, so sorry if anything I say about politics offends you... Really, I try to avoid it as much as possible.)

* * *

Apparently Matt's prediction about the President's computer being having one of the best security systems in the world was incorrect. He'd actually found it _more_ difficult to hack into _Near's_computer the one time Mello made him to see 'what he did in his spare time...' The only thing they could find were a ton of links to toy companies. Nothing that interesting. But the point is, it had taken him over a _week_ to hack into their, and it only took about an hour and a half to hack into the President's. Basically, what Matt found was a bunch of typical protection systems put together. No huge, one-of-a-kind program... Just a bunch of cheap, crappy ones. At any rate, when he had finished, he realized that he didn't actually have a specific _message_ from Near... He'd just told him to hack in so he could send it. This was a bit of a problem, as Matt didn't really know _what_he was supposed to say at all. All he knew was that his little hack job would be found and patched if he stayed on it for to long... As it was, he'd have to destroy this laptop and get a new one as soon as he was finished with this... Sighing he glanced at the clock which read 10:04... Doing the conversions in his head ((A/N: unlike the Baka who is now using Time Zone Converter [it's a website])) he figured that it was 6:04 AM in England... Way too early to call Near... And it wasn't like he could ask Mello, either. Mello would just tell him to say something that would make Near look like a jack ass... So Matt would have to come up with something on his own. What would Near say...?

After about a half an hour of thinking, and many taps on the 'backspace' key, this is what he came up with ((A/N: I'll put his un-edited version in the end rant)):

_Dear President Hoope,_

_This is L._

_I apologize for contacting you this way, but I am afraid that I had no other means of communication. I would like to request your assistance. As I am sure you already know, I am currently trying to capture the serial killer known as 'Kira,' but I am unable to do this on my own. I have been working with the Japanese police, but unfortunately, their help is not enough. I would like to meet with you, if possible. Please contact me at the following number when you get the chance._

_(Near's cell phone number)_

_Thank You._

_L_

He knew that Near probably would've come up with something better, but he couldn't think of anything. Sighing, he stood and tossed his laptop out of the window, to where he'd noticed a dumpster was below. At landed with a satisfying smash, and with this, Matt returned to the living room, where Mello was now half-asleep, still watching a Kira special. Deciding to try being nice, Matt pulled a chocolate bar out of Mello's bag, which was now behind the couch, and handed it to him. Mello took it, though he didn't say anything, which made Matt a bit uncomfortable. "...I'm sorry, Mello." He mumbled, which attracted the blonde's attention. "That's the last favor I'll do for him, I promise."

Mello eyed him warily, as if trying to peer inside his head, before finally saying, "Never again, Matt." With this said, Mello returned his attention to the television and Matt took a seat on the overstuffed chair beside the couch.

"Mello, you wouldn't believe how easy it was to hack into there." Matt said, somewhat proud of his accomplishment. Though it was easy for him, he knew it would probably have been pretty difficult for anyone else to get past all of the firewalls. He was well aware of the fact that Mello was tuning him out, but he didn't care. He was proud of himself, and Mello had, in his own way, forgiven him, so he was happy. He rambled on for a while about how easy it had been before silencing himself with his GameBoy... Portable gaming systems really _were _(and still are) the greatest pacifires in the universe.

After they had sat in silence for quite some time, Mello asked, "Matt? What did you do with the laptop?"

"Out the window, into the dumpster," Matt replied, not really speaking in proper sentences. He didn't care much, either. He knew Mello was used to this habit, especially when he had a game in his hands. "I'll get a new one tomorrow. Why?"

"Curious." Mello replied, "You'd probably be screwed if anyone found out where the message came from."

"Yeah, I know..." Matt muttered, "But I'll be okay. You should be more worried about yourself, Mello."

"I'm not _worried!_" Mello growled, annoyed. This, of course, wasn't the truth, but he felt the need to defend his pride by saying it.

"Whatever, Mello." Matt was still distracted by his game, so he wasn't really listening to anything that Mello was saying... That is, until his beloved GameBoy went flying across the room, narrowly missing the T.V. Mello had smacked it out of his hands. "The hell Mello?! Couldn't you have waited another two seconds?" He glared up at his friend, but almost instantly felt bad about it. Mello actually _looked_ worried now. "...What's wrong?"

"...Nothing." Mello mumbled, "It's just annoying when I'm _trying_to talk to you and you won't get that damn game out of your face!" To anyone who knew Mello at _all_ this was obviously a cover. As was the scowl which had replaced the previous expression.

Matt sighed, hoping that his assumption was correct when he muttered, "If you're _that _worried about it, I'll call Near back while you're here. I'll even put him on speaker. That a deal?" He was pretty sure that Mello still wasn't over his hidden fear of Matt running away with his silver-haired rival, and if that was the case, just hearing this should have been of some comfort to him.

"I _told_ you, I'm not worried!" Though his voice was firm as he said this, his eyes betrayed him. For just a brief moment, a shimmer of relief appeared in his eyes.

"...Okay, Mello. So what was so important?" Matt asked, satisfied with this.

"I wanted to ask you why-" Mello was cut off by Matt's phone, now playing the Mario theme from it's place on the table.

Matt heaved another sigh, knowing instantaneously who it was. Near. As promised, Matt opened the phone and put it on speaker. "Did you hear from the President yet?" He asked, smirking.

"...Yes," Near replied softly, "He called me a few minutes ago. Thank you for handling that for me, Matt."

"It was easy," He replied with a shrug that he knew Near couldn't see. "How about you? Have you had any luck yet?" He questioned, hoping that Near would take a hint and be as vague as he was.

"I have, it should be ready for you in about twelve hours." Near murmured, pausing before adding, "And how are you doing, Mello? You're unusually quiet."

Mello glared at the phone, annoyed. Anyone with an ounce of brain matter was able to tell when they were on speakerphone... And Near had several ounces to spare. Matt decided to interject before the conversation took a turn for the worse. "Anyway, what did he say, Near?"

"...He said that he is interested in meeting with me." Near said quietly.

"So did you set anything up?" Matt questioned, trying to keep both Mello and Near occupied to prevent them from arguing. He figured that as long as he kept the conversation moving, they should both stay calm.

"Yes, I will be meeting with him next weekend in the White House." The boy stated softly. "Matt, I will speak with you again, soon... There are a few things I must do to prepare for the event of meeting with President Hoope."

"Alright, later Near." With this said, he hung up and glanced over at Mello, "Satisfied? I'm not running off to Near."

"Yeah, but he knew _I_was here. He wouldn't say anything in front of me." Mello retorted.

"You're so paranoid, Mello," Matt muttered, standing up to retrieve his beloved GameBoy, "I told you; you can't get rid of me so easily. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." With this, he studied the screen of the system. No cracks... Just large red letters spelling out the words "Game Over." He winced, realizing that he hadn't saved in over twenty minutes, then settled back into the chair with it, restarting his game. He was only paying a little bit of attention to Mello after that, but it was enough that he heard, "I'm taking a shower." and noticed when he left the room. As soon as Mello left, he turned the GameBoy off and looked up at the now closed bedroom door before making his way over to the couch and lying down. He was utterly exhausted from everything that had happened that day, so it didn't take long to fall asleep, especially since the couch was still warm from Mello.

* * *

I know this might seem random, but this is how I type alot. When I don't know what to say, I type random shit, then delete it. Everything in parenthesis was deleted.

_Dear President Hoope, (LOL, Hoope... What the hell kind of last name is that? At least mine sounds like a search engine.)_

_This is L. (Would he really say that?) _

_I apologize for contacting you this way, but I am afraid that I had no other means of communication. (AKA AIM LOL) I would like to request your assistance. As I am sure you already know, I am currently trying to capture the serial killer known as 'Kira,' but I am unable to do this on my own. (Hence the reason why I need your help. I feel like I'm talking to a baby…) I have been working with the Japanese police, but unfortunately, their help is not enough. (Yeah, especially when they have no idea who the hell I am. That can be kinda problematic.) I would like to meet with you, if possible. (If you don't have time, make it, biotch. I R L!) Please contact me at the following number when you get the chance. (Like, NOW would be nice. I'm sure Near would appreciate that. XD)_

_(Near's cell phone number) _

_Thank You._

_L_


	13. LaptopChocolate run

Nyaahhh, why doesn't anyone leave reviews? I don't bite, honest! At least yell at me for making Mello so out of character! _Please_ yell at me!

* * *

Matt was rather rudely awakened at around seven o'clock that morning. Rudely because he was kicked onto the floor by none other than his roommate and best friend, Mello. "Ow..." He mumbled, rubbing his head, which had hit the ground first, as he sat up, now wide awake. "What was that for?"

"Not getting out of the way," Mello replied bluntly, easing himself onto the couch, "And snoring. I can't hear the TV over you."

Matt grumbled something incoherently and glanced over at Mello, "Why the sudden obsession with TV?" He questioned, "You were watching it for hours last night, too."

Mello reached for his breakfast- yet another bar of chocolate, and said, "Research. I have to get as far ahead of the game as I can. Near's doing the same thing; that's why he's going to the President. Roger e-mailed me a ton of information, which is now gone, thanks to you," He shot a glare at Matt, "Most of L's research was included in it."

Matt looked away guiltily, "Did you delete it? You can easily log-in to your e-mail and retrieve it from another computer, you know."

"I saved it to that hard-drive and deleted it." Mello replied bluntly, "If anyone else got their hands on that information there would be problems."

"I'm aware." Matt replied, not particularly enjoying Mello's tone. He felt like he was being spoken down to. "I'll go see if the drive survived the fall." He muttered before leaving Mello in silence.

After several minutes of garbage-picking fun, Matt finally retrieved the shattered item that was once a laptop. He sighed and forced it open, removing the once protective outer shell to peer at it's internal system. Almost everything was destroyed beyond repair, damaged by the impact of the fall... But in the center of the destruction, one glimmer of hope remained. Somehow, the hard-drive had managed to remain un-touched. Breathing a sigh of relief, Matt removed it, with some difficulty, from the rubble and headed back to the apartment, where he heard Mello talking. Interested, he pressed his ear to the door, listening. "...It'll be no problem for me... No, I doubt it... Well, obviously." Matt raised an eyebrow, curious. What the hell was Mello talking about? And who was he talking _to_? "Yeah, by Friday at the latest... What, you don't think I can do it?" He heard Mello growl, followed by a snap. Chocolate. "I can handle him by myself, just wait, I'll bring his head on a silver platter!" He heard something hit the door, then fall to the ground. "Dumbass..." He heard Mello mutter to himself, then the TV turned on.

Deciding it was safe to enter now, Matt opened the door, stepping around the cell phone, "Hey, Mello," He said dryly, well aware of the terrible mood his friend was in.

"Did you get it?" Mello asked, glancing back at Matt as he closed the door silently behind himself and picked up the phone.

"Yeah, it looks alright externally, but who knows what it's like inside." Matt mumbled, handing both the phone and the hard-drive to his friend. "...Who were you talking to?"

"Nobody," Mello snatched both items away from Matt, who sighed.

"You really think I'm _that _stupid, Mello? If you weren't on the phone, why is it halfway across the room? And don't tell me you dropped it, 'cause I know it wasn't there when I left." Mello scowled, thinking that Matt paid a little bit too much attention to detail sometimes... Though that really was one of his best traits...

"I felt like throwing it." Mello really didn't care much about Matt's knowledge of his conversation, it was just that he really didn't feel like explaining it, and, frankly, it was none of Matt's business to begin with. But that didn't really matter at the time. All that mattered was winning the argument.

"Liar," Matt accused, though he knew there was really no way of proving this without admitting that he'd been eavesdropping... And that would probably be painful. He sat down, this time on the couch beside Mello, and took the hard-drive back, examining it closely. "...Most electronic stores don't open until ten, so I'll head out a little before then." He said, changing the subject. They were both quiet for a moment before Matt asked, "Are you going to play with your mafia friends today?"

Ignoring the sarcasm his friend used, Mello replied, "I'm going to work on something later."

"Do you need help?" Matt questioned cautiously, not sure what kind of response Mello would give to that.

"No; it's not a big deal." Mello mumbled, biting off another chunk of chocolate. Matt wanted to scream. If Mello was serious about killing someone, and if _that_was what he was planning to do with the day, it was definitely a big deal!

"Mello," Matt breathed, trying to remain as calm as he possibly could, "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

Mello's expression changed suddenly. His body stiffened, and his face became grim. Though he hadn't cared much before, the concern in Matt's voice was bothering him. He didn't want Matt to jump in on it too, it was just too dangerous. "You were listening, weren't you?" His voice was surprisingly gentle, which caught Matt off-guard.

Nodding hesitantly, Matt mumbled, "I only heard the end of it though... What are you planning, Mello?"

Mello sighed, still not really wanting to explain, but he did anyway, on the assumption the Matt would just keep pestering him about it if he didn't. "I have to take down some other mob's boss. They didn't really believe everything I said about B, but they said that if I got rid of their rival's leader, they would let me in... Apparently they don' think I can do it, but I really don't think it's going to be all that hard. All I have to do is hunt him down when he's alone and kill him. The hard part's going to be finding him. The rest of it should be pretty easy..." Glancing over at Matt, he added, "So again, no, I don't need help."

((A/N: Remember kids: The hardest part about killing someone is killing them. XD And soon we'll know how Mello learns that the hard way.))

"If you're sure..." Matt said quietly, not too fond of the plan. He stood, nonetheless, "Is there anything else I should get? I'll be out anyway, might as well pick up everything we need at once."

Mello shrugged, "A car would be nice. Or a motorcycle. I'm getting pretty sick of walking."

Matt looked at him, unsure if he'd been joking or serious. "Mello, neither of us have our licences, and we're not old enough to get them yet."

"We're not eighteen either, so technically, we shouldn't be able to rent an apartment, but that didn't stop us, did it?" Mello asked rhetorically. "Besides, I'm sure you can pull off printing a few fake ones for us, right?" Matt eyed him warily. Of course it was true, with his superior computer skills, but it was also illegal, not to mention risky. As if he had read the other's mind, Mello added pointedly, "You hacked into the President's computer for _Near_, but you won't help _me _get a few fake ID's?"

"Fine, I'll do it," Matt grumbled, "But I'm going to need more than a day. I'll have to somehow put together a printer-"

"Or steal one," Mello cut in, though Matt continued speaking anyway.

"And hack into the DMV's database." Matt wasn't too fond of the idea of stealing a printer... Though it would certainly make his job easier. Then again, who said _he _had to do it. Mello could probably get some of his mafia friends to take care of it for him. Just to be sure, he asked, "You'll take care of the stealing if it comes to that, right?"

"Isn't it great to have a friend in the mafia?" Mello asked proudly, "I've got it covered, Matt."

"...Alright. Again, is there anything you want me to get that _doesn't_ have a motor while I'm out?"

"More chocolate. The good kind, not the generic crap Roger used to order."

"_That _I can do." Matt gently placed the hard-drive on the coffetable before them, "I'll be back in a bit." With this said, he left, and Mello returned his attention to the TV.

The very first thing Matt did when he left the apartment was light up his cigarette. He knew there was a law in LA forbidding smoking within a certain distance of buildings, but he didn't particularly care. He was already breaking the rule by smoking at his age, anyway. It was still early in the morning, so most people were still passed out with hang-overs, so they wouldn't know. At any rate, his first stop was the ATM machine outside of the casino below their apartment. He took out $1,500, figuring that that should be enough to get a pretty nice laptop and have enough left over to get Mello plenty of chocolate- at least enough to last him a day or two... Especially considering the fact that he already had plenty of it back at the apartment from what he packed... So with cash (and a pack of cigarettes) filling his pockets, he started off for Best Buy.

Oh the distractions! Games and systems galore! Had he not seen the Dell sale sign in the window, he probably would've been attacking the game aisle, searching for anything he didn't already own, or PWNing the five-year-olds who were attempting to play Guitar Hero left-handed. No, he was on a mission! With new-found determination, Matt forced himself to browse through the menagerie of laptops. After finding one he was satisfied with, he checked out and headed for the Jewel. He'd only spent $1,250.03, so he still had almost $250 left to feed Mello's addiction. In LA, he realized, it probably wouldn't get him a whole hell of alot, but, again, it was enough. He managed to get several boxes worth of chocolate, as well as a bag of chips and a bottle of Coke for himself, which he enjoyed on his walk back home... Home... Wammy's... He wondered briefly how Near was doing, but he quickly pushed the thoughts aside. Near, he knew, would be fine on his own. And Near, unlike Mello, would actually _ask_for help when he needed it. Mello would just assume that help would come to him, no matter how many times he said he didn't want it. Thinking of Wammy's brought up another memory, however. Something that Mello had mentioned a few times, though nobody had really seemed to care. Mello hadn't had many friends at the orphanage, as most people were afraid of him, teachers included... Matt, of course, was one of the few people who _had _cared, despite the fact that Mello had told him not to.

(If you haven't figured it out yet...) It was almost Mello's birthday! At Wammy's, Matt would just get him some 'good chocolate' and a chocolate cake, though Mello would tell him every year not to get anything, despite the fct that his face lit up with joy, if only for a brief moment, every time.

Still, Matt felt like he should get something more for Mello this time. Chocolate wasn't really enough, as he was already bringing some home for him... But then, what the hell was he supposed to do? Mello had just about everything he could ever want... Well, with the exceptions of being number one, Kira and Near's heads, and the Death Note... But what more could he get? Yeah, the fake ID's, but that was more of a favor, and apology for helping Near. It wasn't really a _gift. _He pondered the possibilities the entire way back to the apartment, and then, just as he opened the door, it struck him. The perfect present for Mello.

* * *

No, it's not the cliche, overused, "I'm your present!" as he jumps out of a box. That's all phony crap. If you thought that was it, know that I'm laughing maliciously at you... And my fingers are alughing at me, because even _I_ don't know what it is! Stupid fingers and their secrets... And protesting... Did you know their first kiss was actually _supposed_ to be in chapter nine? Yeah, my fingers didn't like that idea, so now I have no idea _when_ it will be... But I promise, _eventually_ they will kiss. And... Yeah, I'll leave the rest to your imaginations for now. Reviews are loved!!!

* * *


	14. Names

You know, I'm getting close to the point where I'm going to be a complete bitch and say, "I won't update until I have at least this many reviews." Seriously. I've noticed a pattern. (Well, Kyoka pointed it out to me, but I agree...) The Death Note fandom readers rarely review! It's annoying! Review, dammit! ...Please...?

Also, I am aware of the fact that some of these things may not have been around at the time they left Wammy's, but deal with it. (I don't own them either.)

* * *

Mello was still sprawled out on the couch watching the news when Matt walked inside. "Here's your chocolate," He said softly, sitting down beside Mello, who didn't seem to notice him. After several minutes of silence, Matt began to worry. "...Mello? You okay?" He asked. It was unusual for Mello to be this quiet... Especially when there was chocolate within five feet of his hands.

"Fine. I'm just thinking." Mello muttered, not bothering to look at Matt.

"Thinking about...?" Matt prodded curiously.

Silence fell between them again, broken only by the TV which was still blaring, though it was receiving little attention. Mello's eyes were still glued to it, but he wasn't really paying much attention to it. Finally, he said, "I'm trying to think of a plan... I'm not planning on doing anything just yet. Not until I have the Mafia's trust. And I doubt Near will be doing anything, either. If he's going to be working with the President, he's probably going to want to put together a group of special agents to work with him. But it's still good to have a plan for when the time comes."

Matt nodded, understanding, but he said softly, "Don't put too much thought into it, Mello. No matter how much you try to plan, no matter how flawless it is, somebody in your party is _bound _to fuck it up somewhere down the line, and then, not only will all of your planning be a waste, but it could screw you over when you're fighting the final boss. That seems to be a recurring theme in RPGs."

Mello tossed Matt a glare, "This isn't a _game_ Matt! Get serious!"

"I _am _being serious! It's true! You can learn alot about real life from games, Mello, trust me on this." Matt told his friend, being completely serious. "You really think you can trust the mafia goons _not _to fuck up a flawless plan, Mello? They're in the mafia for a reason, Mello, because they're dumb asses who dropped out of high school because it was too hard! All they know how to do is _kill_, you _really_ think they'll be able to follow orders to a T?"

Mello's glare softened ever-so-slightly. Matt had a point... Reaching for a chocolate bar, he mumbled, "Guess I'm lucky I have you then."

"Finally, some respect!" Matt smiled, satisfied, and leaned back against the couch, pulling his GameBoy out from between the cushions, "So, as a reward for my genius deduction, can I help you with that Mafia boss?" He questioned. Though his tone was joking, he really did want to help Mello.

Mello rolled his eyes, "Don't forget your place." He mumbled, "But I'll let you help me if you really want to. I found the one I'm supposed to kill, but he's staying in a high-security underground base."

"So... Hacking job again?" Matt asked, not really caring if his thought was correct or not. He was just glad he could help in some way, no matter how insignificant.

"Well, yeah, that, but it's not just technological security. There are human guards too. Think you can distract them long enough for me to sneak in and out?" Mello inquired.

"Probably... What were you thinking I could do?" Matt was a little bit surprised at this. Mello must have been planning it out for awhile now. He must have known that Matt would insist on helping.

Mello shrugged, "Shoot at them, then play chase. It shouldn't be too hard to lose them. They don't have enough grey matter to follow a few turns."

Matt thought about this for a moment, then said, "Again, no license. Though that does sound like fun."

"I'll wait until you get them ready. Speaking of, we need aliases. It's probably not a good idea to use 'Matt and Mello,' Near would find us in an instant." Mello murmured thoughtfully.

Matt decided that he was avoiding the obvious fact that Near could find them now if he wanted to, and instead suggested, "Mario and Luigi."

Mello shot him a glare, "Get serious, Matt."

"What? I think they're good names." Matt mumbled with a frown, though he'd really already known it would be shot down in an instant. "How about-"

"Not Batman and Robin either." Mello cut him off, narrowing his eyes in annoyance.

"...I was going to say Red and Yellow like the M&M commercials, but that works too. Or Elmo and Big Bird." Matt said with a small, amused smile. He was enjoying this.

With another glare, Mello countered, "Okay, how about Aquaman and Superman, Aquaman?"

"Oh, _so_ not funny!" Matt snapped, sitting up straight as he came up with an instant response, "_Princess Peach!"_

Mello twitched in annoyance, "Then would that make you Daisy?" He didn't know much about video games, but he'd seen Matt play enough to know the names and relationships between some characters... And who doesn't know Aquaman and Superman?

"Tom and Jerry!" Matt countered, deciding that those were actually not half bad.

"...That's actually not bad..."

"Mike and Ike! Big Bird and Elmo!"

"Okay, getting worse again..."

"Ed, Edd and Eddy!"

"Why do we need three names? Matt, are you even listening?"

"Not really, this is fun!" Matt replied happily. To him, this was just another game. "You think of something, Mello. I could do this all day."

Mello sighed and thought about it for a moment, then said, "Ned and Fred."

"Where the hell did you come up with those names? They suck!"

"I have no idea, I'm just getting it over with." Mello replied, taking a bite of chocolate, "I don't really care about names as long as they aren't completely retarded or blatantly obvious."

Matt continued to produce names which were easily rejected by Mello for a good hour before finally Matt got bored and decided to make it more dramatic... In the literal sense. He leapt up on the coffee table, careful to avoid the laptop, held one fist in the air and the other on his hip, in a classic pose and said, "Romeo and Mercutio!"

Mello stared at him blankly for a moment, then, unable to hold it in, burst into laughter, "You're insane, Matt. And you're making an ass of yourself. Get off the table."

"I know, but it works," He jumped back off the table obediently, "You know the crazy names people name their kids these days so why not?"

"We're not doing Shakespeare." Mello stated, earning an obviously forced frown from his friend. "How about John and Paul?"

Matt studied Mello for a moment, then asked, "As in the Pope? Mello, I'm not being named after the Pope. I'd rather be Shaggy and Scooby."

"Fine, then stick with Tom and Jerry!" Mello grumbled, annoyed that Matt had seen right through him. "I already talked to the mafia goons, and they said that they should have something for us by tomorrow."

"Okay..." Matt sighed and settled back into the couch and reaching for the laptop.

"What are you up to now?" Mello asked as Matt flipped the screen up.

"Databases don't hack themselves, Mello." Matt replied, though this was a pretty transparent lie.

"Even _I _know it won't take you _that _long to hack into the DMV. What are you really doing, Matt?" Mello demanded.

"...Seeing if Near held up his end of the deal," Matt admitted, "And no, I'm still not telling you what it is." With this said, he stood and went to the bedroom, locking himself inside... And surprisingly enough, Mello didn't follow him.


	15. Present Shopping

Yeah, Baka'sbrain is a little bit fried right now. I don't know why, it just is... But I still want to write! So I will! And I hope it doesn't completely suck ass. You should be happy to hear, however, that I haven't been doing absolutely nothing that has to do with fanfictions. Oh contra-ire. What I can do next has been on my mind for quite some time, and now I have it all planned out... Except for this chapter. I'm winging it. (That includes the birthday present, which I though was brilliant, by the way.) But, the point is, they will _probably _have their first kiss in the next chapter or so. If my fingers agree with me. You know, my fingers have told me that they don't like listening to me, so maybe if you yelled at them in a review...? XD Wow, that's desperation for you.

* * *

Matt settled into the bed and began setting up his own user name for the computer. He knew it was probably a good idea to keep his little secret with Near a secret... Or there would probably be blood, or, at the very least, alot of pain. So he set up his account, using 'Matt' as his user name and the password "MarioisJumpman81". He'd made it up spur-of-the-moment, as he did with most of his passwords, but he always seemed to remember them. Besides, this would be good enough to keep Mello out. He sure as hell didn't know enough about Mario to know his debut name and year. ((A/N:Seriously, look it up. His original name was "Jumpman" and he debuted in 1981 in Donkey Kong. Granted this is all according to Wikipedia, but...)) At any rate, when he had finished securing his account and brought up his e-mail in-box, he found that Near had in fact kept up his end of the bargain. At the very top of the list was a subject-less message from Near, and, upon opening it, he found a brief message, which was of little interest to him, and an attached file. He ignored the message and clicked directly on the file, opening it. An image popped onto the screen, and his recognized it as their apartment building... Though he could really only tell by the sign advertising the casino below them. It was an areal view, probably by satellite, and it was pretty obvious that it was a live feed, as Lego-sized cars continued to zoom past on the road. Satisfied enough with this, he decided to read Near's message. It was quite brief, but clearly in Near's style. He always spoke with purpose, wasting no words.

_Matt,_

_I have attached a live satellite video feed to this message. It tracks Mello automatically by following his cell phone's signal. Needless to say, if, for some reason, he does not have his phone with him or it is off, the video feed will stay at the location where the last signal was received until he turns it back on._

_Please keep in touch,_

_Near_

Satisfied, Matt turned his attention to his next task, which also related to Mello. Birthday present. He opened a new Internet window and typed into the search box: "Leather retail outlets in LA". He got over eight thousand hits, about five thousand of which were pornographic, but he eventually settled on one particular store that caught his interest. He pulled his Nintendo DS out of his pocket and typed the address into his 'greeting' box, saved, then turned it off. That way, he would be able to access it no matter what... Besides, he didn't have any paper or writing utensils with him. He turned logged out, turned the computer off, and left the room. Mello was, yet again, staring blankly at the television screen, watching yet another Kira special.

"Did he?" Mello asked, not bothering to look back at Matt or expand on the question. They both knew what he was talking about.

"Yeah, Near did his part," Matt replied, walking over to the couch to sit beside Mello, who kicked his legs up, successfully covering the couch's surface, leaving no room for Matt to sit. Sighing, Matt settled for the rocking chair, "Are you seriously _still _mad about that?" He received no response from Mello and decided to give up. If Mello wanted to be stubborn, he sure as hell could. And this was one of those times. Matt turned his attention to the television, where there seemed to be a new sort of game-show on. Five contestants lined up and predicted who they thought Kira would kill next, and the person who's choice died first won yen thousand dollars. It was a twisted game, really, and Matt wouldn't be surprised if the _host_was killed off by Kira. Mello seemed interested though. He was probably looking for some hidden pattern, though Matt really couldn't see any. Not in all glorious three hours worth of episodes. Apparently, Mello didn't either, as he finally got bored enough to flip off the T.V. and stand up. "Going to bed?" Matt asked, looking up at Mello.

"Yeah, I don't know what time those idiots are going to have everything ready. You should sleep too... We're probably making our move tomorrow night." Mello told him. Well wasn't _that_ something to look forward to?

"Gee, thanks for the heads-up." Matt grumbled, crawling onto the couch. Mello ignored this and went off to his room. Matt really couldn't be too mad at him anyway... Really, Mello had only had two days (well, three if you count the day of the attack) to plan it out. _"This,"_ Matt realized, _"Is exactly why Mello's number two, and I'm number three." _After lying there awake for what felt like an eternity, Matt finally fell asleep.

Matt woke up to the sound of the apartment door being slammed shut. Sitting up, startled, he stared at the door. Beyond the curtains, he saw a shadow storm past the window. Apparently, Mello was taking off... The perfect time for Matt to play stalker and put his new toy to the test. He pulled the laptop up on to the couch with him and brought up the video feed just in time to watch Mello get in to what looked like a black, wingless dragonfly from the angle of the satellite, but what common sense told Matt was a limo. He watched it pull away from the curb and start driving off... Only, it didn't go off-screen. As Near had said in his message, the camera followed the limousine all the way to it's destination... In the middle of a desert. Matt stared at the screen for a moment, confused, until a large section of the sand lifted away, revealing a trap door, which Mello was lead through... And that was it. Matt couldn't see any more of what happened. At least not until Mello came back outside. Giving up for the time being, Matt logged off and turned the machine off again, then left the apartment, not bothering to leave a note for Mello. He could easily come up with an excuse. Right now, he had to focus on getting Mello's birthday present.

Matt found himself staring at the entrance of what was clearly a bikers hangout. It was Hell's Angels' heaven in there. Painfully out-of-place, Matt entered and began browsing around, trying his best to avoid anyone and everyone else in the building. Everyone had at least five tattoos and four piercings, were completely clad in leather, smelled like a combination of shit and molding cheese, and had muscles comparable to the Hulk's. At least, that's what it seemed like to Matt. Eventually, he was right where he wanted to be... Staring at a manikin who's clothing seemed to scream Mello'sname. Ever since Matt could remember, Mello had had a leather fetish. Roger wouldn't allow him to have it around, as it was 'innappropriate' and 'didn't live up the standards of the Wammy House,' but any time that He and Mello were allowed in the outside world, after Matt had bought another menagerie of video games, he and Mello would hang around stores for hours while Mello tried on different leather outfits and showed them off to Matt.

The particular style that Matt was looking at was the style that Mello had always seemed to zero-in on. The top, which was really more like a vest than a shirt, rode up just enough to expose the wearer's bare midriff, the pants laced up instead of zippering or buttoning, the jacket had, of all things, _feathers_ coming out of the collar, and the heavy boots laced up to the wearer's knees. It was totally _Mello. _And now that they'd left Wammy's behind, he could wear it whenever he wanted. After skimming the racks for sizes that looked like they would fit, Matt carried the items over to the checkout counter, glad that he would be leaving soon. The man behind the counter took one look down at the clothes, then back up at Matt, and snorted, as if to say, "Are you _really_ gonna wear this?"

Seeing no need t explain himself, Matt dug through his pocket until he found a wad of cash, and paid for the merchandise, hoping that he would beat Mello home. He would probably be curious if he saw the bag, and their apartment didn't exactly have any brilliant hiding places. So, with the heavy bag of leather weighing him down, Matt headed home as quickly as he could, and somehow managed to actually beat Mello. He stuffed the bag underneath the couch and sat down just as the door swung open. "Hey, Mello," He greeted breathlessly.

Mello raised a curious eyebrow, "What have you been up to?" He questioned skeptically, walking inside with a large, covered object in his arms.

"I went out for a jog," Matt lied, getting up to help his friend.

"Like hell you were. I've seen you run _once_in your life, and that was on the way to get some limited-edition video game." Mello grumbled,carrying the object, with some help from Matt, to the coffee table.

Changing the subject, Matt asked, "What's in the package, Brain?" ((A/N: Pinky and the Brain referenced randomly.))

Mello playfully whacked Matt on the back of the head and pulled the cover off dramatically, "Behold the mighty printer! Now get your lazy ass to work."

"You got it." Matt sat down on the couch and did as he was told, quickly hacking in to the DMV's database and entering the names "Tom Hull" and "Jerry Thornton," as well as two pictures photoshopped well enough to look somewhat like them. Naturally, it was way too dangerous to put their actual pictures out there, just in case... Afterwards, he printed both of the licenses out and set them on the table, admiring his handiwork. By the time he was done printing them, however, a note from Mello had been placed on the counter reading:

_I went to lie down for a while. When you're done, go get a car. I don't care what kind, just as long as it's fast and handles well. We'll probably start getting ready to go when you get back._

_Mello_

Matt sighed and stood, briefly wondering when _he_ got to take _his _break before heading outside to do as he was told... But somewhere in his gut, something didn't feel quite right. He had a bad feeling that something would go wrong. Really wrong. But he knew he had to have faith in Mello. Mello would get them both through it, of that he could be certain.


	16. Miracle?

Muahaha. I feel evil writing this chapter. I guess I like tra--- Whoops, I was about to spoil it! Hehe, can't have that now can we? Anyway, you'll see what I mean.

PS. I'm sorry, I was sure I would have updated about three nights ago, but I got distracted several times, and then, today, I lost a little more than a thousand words because my computer was being a moron. Anyway, here it is. I hope you like it!

* * *

There was only one car that came to mind for Matt. A Corvette, obviously, was the only possible option. There aren't many video games... Or real life situations, for that matter... Where a fugitive is running away from the cops in a station wagon or a pick-up truck. No, it's always a sports car, and, more often than not (in games, at least) that sports car is a Corvette. So when Matt saw a red Corvette in the used car lot just a few blocks down the road, he believed it was fate that brought them together. Matt approached the vehicle and studied it for a few minutes, making sure it was in decent shape. After a while of staring, though he was no longer examining it, but rather waiting for a salesman to talk to him. Finally, someone showed up and patted the car's hood, "She's a beauty, isn't she?"

"How much?" Matt asked, not really caring much for the small talk. He had to get this over with, then hear the rest of Mello's plan and execute it. This guy's rambling didn't fit into that schedule.

"Uh... forty seven thousand dollars..." The man stammered, apparently not used to this kind of attitude.

Matt ripped a check out of the checkbook Mello had apparently gotten for him and left on the coffee table and wrote it out, "That it?" He asked, hoping there wasn't any paperwork. Naturally, there was.

"Umm, if you could just fill this out," The man held out a clip-board with several pages of paper, and Matt mumbled a curse under his breath and took the clip-board. Five "sign and date here" 's later, Matt was finally finished and handed the papers back to the man.

"Anything else?" He asked, in a somewhat snappy tone. When the man shook his head 'no,' Matt held his hand out for the keys, and once he had them, he lowered himself into the Corvette, turned the key in the ignition, and pressed a button to lower the top. Satisfied, he turned to the salesman and read his name-tag, then said, "A little bit of advice, Chuck... Nobody _really_wants to sit around and chat about how nice the car is all day. Don't bother." With this said, he backed out of the parking spot and drove off. He found that driving was surprisingly simple. It didn't take a whole lot of time to figure it out. He had already learned how to use the gas, brake, and shifting from his video names, and everything else was more or less common sense. It was a pleasant surprise, however, to be back at the apartment within five minutes, when it had taken him twenty to get to the lot. He parked the car in the casino's parking lot, which was still pretty empty as it was early in the day for LA, and went up to their apartment.

Mello had more or less just crawled out of bed when Matt opened the door. His hair was a mess, and his eyes were a bit glazed over, but he was still awake enough to remember what his last orders to Matt had been. "Did you get a car?" He asked.

"Yeah. A 'Vette." Matt replied lazily, flopping down on the couch, where he was soon joined by Mello. "So, you going to fill me in on the rest of your plan?"

"There's not much else to it. You'll hack into the security system, which will get the human security all riled up. They'll come outside, expecting an attack, and you'll give it to them. You'll drop me off a few blocks from the place and keep going towards it. When you get there, shoot at them to get their attention, then take off, like you're just realizing that you're out-numbered. They'll jump in their cars and chase you, but it shouldn't be too hard to lose them. Once you've done that, come back and pick me up. That's it." Mello explained, fully awake by the time he was finished speaking. In theory, the plan was simple enough.

"What about the cops?" Matt questioned. Murder was still a crime, after all.

"What about them? We're doing them a favor. We're disbanding a gang, I doubt they'll really try too hard to come after us. Not to mention the fact that we're in LA. They'll have their hand full with DUI's and theft. Don't worry about them." Mello assured him, clearly not at all concerned about the police.

"Alright... I'll need a location though."

Mello pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Matt, "Anything else?" He asked.

After a brief glance at the paper, Matt found that it had the full address of the target's location, which was really all he needed. "...No. What time are you planning on doing all of this?"

"Probably an hour or so," Mello replied, "That enough time to hack into the security system?"

"Yeah, I doubt they'll have much protection." Matt said, pulling the laptop onto his lap and booting it up. Beside him, Mello kicked his feet up on the coffee table and turned on the TV, which was actually pretty helpful. Matt tended to like background noises when he worked as long as they weren't directed at him.

It took even less time than Matt had thought it would to get through the security. He loaded the systems with pornographic pop-ups, which, he figured, would keep the security men busy plenty long enough. So he soon found himself driving Mello through LA, which was now packed with people and cars, and the fact that most of the drivers were drunk didn't help much. Stll, they eventually made it to the outskirts of the city, where, from their hill-side perch, the two boys could easily see a large, dilapidated building outlined by the moonlight. "Drop me off here," Mello commanded, and Matt stopped the car obediently, putting the top back up.

"You sure? It looks like kind of a hike from here to there." Matt said pointedly, glancing at the building.

"It's fine," Mello replied, opening his door and stepping out into the night, "Just give me a head-start. If we get much closer with the car they'll see us. They're less likely to see me walking than a Corvette with it's headlights on." Matt nodded and turned the car off, pulling out his Nintendo DS. After playing a few rounds of Mario Kart, he turned it off again and re-started the car... Then that feeling came back. The feeling that something was just not right. Again, he shook it off and loaded the gun that Mello had conveniently placed in the glove compartment. Gun in hand, he took off down the hill, bypassing Mello somewhere along the way, he lost track. He was too busy enjoying the speed to pay much attention to his friend. He slammed on the brakes as soon as he got up close to the building and got out of the car, shooting at the lock on the door of the base until it fell to the ground. And then they came. Ten men ran out of the building and started shooting at Matt, who was lucky enough to get in the car before he was hit.

He started up his vehicle and took off, hearing faint shouts of, "Shit, he's getting away! Get in the cars, we'll pin him down!"

"Oh no you won't," Matt murmured, grinning. He often spoke to himself when he was facing a final boss, and, in a way, this was similar to that. He slowed down ever-so-slightly, giving the goons time to get in their cars and start driving. If he didn't give them some sort of chance, they might give in and retreat, which would cause serious problems for Mello. Once they were hot on his trail, however, he sped up again, leading them back into the city of angels, his eyes glued to the rear-view mirror. After turning in to several dark alleyways, Matt decided he had lost them ad began heading back to the mafia base. "PWNED." He said, smiling happily as he continued to gaze in to the mirror. But Matt was about to get a reality check. This wasn't a game after all.

Matt turned around just in time to see the post of a billboard illuminated in his head-lights. "Shit!" He slammed on the brakes and turned the steering wheel hard to the right, though he knew it was too little too late. The car slammed into the post with a resounding smash at almost eighty miles per hour. The next thing Matt knew, his face was buried in the airbag, and his head and left arm were throbbing. He opened his eyes and noticed that the airbag was red... But in all the commercials, they were white. Why was this one red? He sat up slowly and realized that there was only a small area that was red. Which would mean... He reached his right hand up and touched his forehead. He felt a sticky fluid and shards of glass protruding from his forehead. "Shit..." He mumbled, punching the airbag down to see what damage had been done to his arm. He soon found that his arm was even worse off than his forehead. The impact of the crash had caused one of the bones in his lower arm to snap in half. The only way he knew this for certain was because the part that was snapped had pierced the skin and was sticking out in a bloody mess. There was nothing he could do about it at the moment, though. He had to go pick up Mello!

He made his way back to the mafia base, where an impatient Mello stood, waiting for him. "Matt, what took you so long?!" He snapped angrily, approaching the car as it ground to a halt.

"Minor complications," Matt replied lamely. It was then that the moon came to just the right angle for Mello to see the damage to both the car and his friend.

"What the hell did you do?" He asked, unable to keep himself from staring.

"I got into an accident," Matt said, stating the obvious, "Think you can drive us home? I kind of hurt my left arm."

"Yeah, get out of the car." Mello mumbled, opening the door for Matt. He was then greeted with another unpleasant surprise. Matt's arm was bent at an unnatural angle, and pearly white bone stuck out through his skin. "Shit, we're not going home, you're going to the damn hospital!" He snapped.

Matt got out of the car, deciding not to argue with Mello. He would probably be passing out from blood loss soon anyway. It was better to go to the hospital now and get it over with. He clambered into the passenger seat, and Mello sped off, determined to get Matt to the hospital before there were any serious repercussions. "Dammit, why didn't you just go straight to the hospital, you idiot?!"

"I had to pick you up," Matt replied, his voice slurring slightly.

"You could've just had them call me!"

"Yeah, and then you'd be caught red-handed. Forget it, Mello, it's over now. Just focus on driving, okay?" They were silent the rest of the way to the hospital, and it wasn't long before they reached it. Mello had to help Matt support himself as he led him into the emergency care center, where they admitted him almost immediately. Mello wasn't allowed inside Matt's room for quite some time, though he saw doctors and nurses running in and out of it several times. Finally, one of them came over to talk to him.

"Tom," The woman said softly, "Jerry is in stable condition now, though I wouldn't suggest seeing him."

"Why the hell not?!" Mello snapped, in no mood to argue with this stupid nurse.

"He's in stable condition, but..." She hesitated slightly, "He's in a coma. His head hit something with enough force to cause serious head trauma. We don't know when he'll wake up. If he ever does, that is."

Mello ran past her and into Matt's room. He was lying on his back, IV's in both arms, machines monitoring his vitals and keeping him alive. "Matt..." Mello sat down on the chair beside his bed. "Wake up, you idiot! Do you really think I can do this on my own? Why do you think I waited for you? Why do you think I made it so easy for you to follow me? Don't give up on me now, dammit!" He couldn't help it anymore. Mello, who hardly ever showed any sign of emotional weakness, collapsed onto Matt's chest and sobbed, "Come back, dammit! Don't you know how much I need you?" His hands balled into fists, gripping the blanket tightly between them, "Come on, Matt. Open your eyes..." Without realizing it, Mello had soon cried himself to sleep, still lying on Matt's chest.

Mello had been asleep for almost five hours when he was awakened by a sudden loud beeping sound from one of the machines, he turned around and saw that it was the heart-rate monitor. Matt's heart-rate was going crazy. It was all over the place. "Matt?" He returned his attention to Matt just as his eyes opened ever-so-slightly. "Matt!" Mello hadn't missed the slight movement.

Mello sat down again, and Matt murmured, "They really are watching over us, Mello."

A small smile broke out on Mello's face and he fell back onto Matt's chest. At that moment, what had once seemed impossible had happened. Mello believed in miracles, and in God himself. "Thank God you're okay." He said quietly, "The doctor's weren't sure you'd wake up."

A few moments later, the doctors and nurses Mello had seen darting in and out of Matt's room earlier entered the room. "Jerry? Are you awake?" The nurse who had told Mello about Matt's condition asked.

Laughing slightly as he remembered his alias and the argument he and Mello had had over it, Matt said, "Yeah, I'm awake. And before you ask, I still know who I am and I still remember everything that happened." He glanced down at his left arm, now in a white cast, and sighed, "But it looks like I won't be able to play anything for a while." He mumbled.


	17. Hospitality

Whew, sorry it took so long to update. I've been more than a little bit distracted this summer. Anyway, that's another story for another day. Hope you enjoy this belated chapter!

* * *

The hospital staff didn't stay for long, as they were a bit short on staff at the time. They took Matt's vitals and told him they would be keeping him one more night to be sure his condition was stable again, then left. "I'm surprised you're still here, Mello," Matt commented after the medical team left.

"You were in a _coma_. The doctors assumed you weren't going to wake up at all. The least I could do was hang around until they pulled the plug on you." Mello told Matt bluntly.

"Yeah, but I thought beating Near and catching Kira were more important..." Matt mumbled, pulling the blankets up with his right hand. "Or did Near already win? How long was I out?"

"You were only out for a few hours." Mello replied, "And, yes, Beating Near to Kira is important, but so are you. What good is a hacker in a coma? You'd have to become my human shield instead."

"I'll pass on that one." Matt mumbled. He was still pretty surprised that Mello was so indeffernt about the fact that Near had the chance to get ahead of him, though he didn't say anything about it. Mello was actually paying more attention to Matt than Near for once, so he wasn't complaining. "So how did you explain this to the doctors? Did you tell them I tripped, or that I ran into a door?" Matt questioned curiously.

"I told them it was none of their damn business." Mello replied honestly.

_Typical Mello._ Matt thought with a sigh, "Okay, they can't have taken that too well."

"Actually, they didn't have time to care. Right after I said that, your blood pressure started dropping and it got so low they kicked me out." Mello stated, "So I got off the hook there. I guess I owe you for that."

"It's my own fault. I wasn't paying attention." Matt mumbled, shrinking back against the pillows.

"Yeah, you never _did_ tell me what happened. Speak up, I want to hear this." Mello commanded, resting his elbows on the bed and supporting his head in his hands, listening intently.

"It was a stupid mistake." Matt said with a sigh, "They were chasing me for a while, and when I finally lost them, I got concieted and was paying more attention to the rearview mirror than the front window… So I ran right into a billboard post."

"You idiot. You're lucky you didn't get killed!" Mello scolded, though he was more calm than one might expect… Which led Matt to his next question.

"Did they drug you, too?" He asked, eying Mello.

"No… I'm just tired. And I have a caffine headache." Mello replied with a yawn. Now the pieces were falling into place. Mello was calm because he hadn't had _chocolate._

"I'm sure there are vending machines, why didn't you snag some chocolate?" Matt wondered aloud.

"Because I didn't want you to wake up, freak out, and do something stupid like going to pick me up after a near-death experience." Mello hissed, "I knew if I stayed here you wouldn't do anything moronic. You could easily trick the doctors and nurses long enough to sneak away, but it won't work with me. I'm still above you." He taunted with a smirk.

"Yeah, 'cause I care _so_ much." Matt muttered sarcastically… But Mello hadn't said the full truth. Matt had no reason to leave as long as Mello was there. He didn't have anyone to worry about, and he knew they were both safe. It wasn't like he had a wife and kids at home to take care of- though Mello sometimes acted like both of those. Speaking of kids… "I just remembered I can't play anymore!" He grumbled, glaring down at his tattered arm. "Stupid arm. Do you have any idea how many RPGs you're preventing me from playing?!"

"I don't think it cares." Mello stated, "And neither do I. I'm more worried about the fact that your hacking skills are going to be cut in half."

Matt hadn't even thought about that. His speed would be greatly decreased with only one typing hand. "Shit." He muttered, "This sucks. How long do I have to wear this damn thing?"

"I don't know," Mello told him, "The doctors said they want to x-ray it in three weeks."

"Three _weeks?_ Can we cut that down by twenty-one days?" Matt asked as he began to claw at his cast.

"Leave it alone or it'll never heal!" Mello scolded, dragging Matt's hand away, "Just be grateful they didn't have to amputate."

Another thing Matt hadn't thought about. The rest of his life without and video games… The thought of this sent a shiver down his spine, and he stopped struggling against Mello's grip. "Was it really that bad?"

"I heard them talking about it outside," Mello replied, "So be careful, okay?"

"Okay _mom._" Matt gave his arm one final tug, finally freeing it from Mello. "Do you have any more happy news for me?"

"I told you, I haven't left the hospital." Mello reminded, a bit annoyed.

"How long are you going to stay?" Matt questioned, wondering if Mello was actually going to stay with him another night. He doubted this, but he would have preferred it to being alone. Staying the night in a hospital _alone_ wasn't exactly Matt's idea of a slumber party.

"I don't know. I don't have anything else to do, so I guess I could stay here." Mello said, leaning back in his chair. Matt sighed with relief, and Mello noticed this, "What, did you think I was going to abandon you here?"

"You did at Wammy's." Matt pointed out.

"That was different, you know that… Besides, I waited for you, didn't I?" Mello averted his gaze, focusing on the floor. "I'm not going to leave you here by yourself. Like I already said, you would just hunt me down anyway."

"Touche." Matt murmured. After a moment of silence, he realized something. "Hey, Mello? Where did you sleep?"

"Right here. It wasn't like I was going to set up a tent and have a bonfire." Mello stated, rolling his eyes, "And they weren't about to roll a cot in for an uninvited guest."

"How can you sleep sitting up?" Matt wondered, "Isn't that uncomfortable?"

"It would have been, but your stomach makes a nice pillow," Mello said with a smirk. "Though it was a bit noisy. Could you refrain from eating the rest of the day? Your digestive system isn't white noise."

"Well excuse me for not starving myself." Matt retorted sarcastically. "And, no, I won't be doing that today, either."

"Then order some room service. I'm hungry too." Mello commanded. Neither of them had eaten in several hours, so it was only natural for them to be a bit hungry.

"I don't think that's how it works…" Matt murmured with a sigh.

"See that red button that says 'emergency?' they'll come running in here if you press it."

"They'll think I'm _dying_ if I press it." He grumbled, "I'm not going to press it because I'm hungry."

"Fine, then," Mello raised his hand, and Matt, realizing what he was doing, covered the button with his right hand, but it was too late. Mello smacked his hand, causing him to press the button.

"Way to go, Mello."

"You pressed it, _Jerry."_

"I'll press _you,_"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I don't really know. Natural response." Matt replied with a shrug. Just then, the team that they had seen earlier came bustling in.

"What's the emergency?" One of them asked.

"Jerry's hungry. I told him not to press the button, but he just wouldn't listen." Mello replied, feigning innocence.

"Like hell I did! You're the one who made me! You-"

"Please only call us in an emergency situation. We are low on staff tonight, so we don't have time to play games with the two of you. If this continues, I am going to have to ask Tom to leave." The head nurse announced.

Matt's eyes lowered as he looked at the sheets, "Sorry," He murmured, feeling a bit threatened by that thought. _He_ would be able to keep himself under control, it was Mello that he had to worry about.

When the staff left again, Mello turned back to Matt and snorted, "Some hotel. Where's the food?"

"Haha, Mello." Matt grumbled, not at all in the mood for the dry humor.

"What now?"

"It's nothing… Just don't piss them off any more, okay? We shouldn't draw any more attention t ourselves than necessary, right?"

"True," Mello agreed. It would be bad if they were questioned about the incident again, and the more they contacted the nurses, the more they would wonder.

* * *

Bad ending, I know, but I wanted to post it today, so... Here it is.


	18. Aww, NOW what!

I'm sorry it took so long! I got grounded and... Yeah. Things happen. Anyway, I'm going to try to update at least four more chapters within the next two weeks.

* * *

The day was more or less uneventful. As it turned out, the new Kira game show decided to have a marathon that day, so they decided to watch it, for lack of anything better to do. It was at least mildly entertaining, though it really didn't help their case any. The last episode was their favorite, however. It marked not only the end of the season, but the end of the series. It was, for once, _live_ and, just as the winners were about to be announced, the host had a heart attack.

"Ooh, cliffhanger. Let me guess: it was fatal." Matt said with a smirk.

"Guess that's the end of that," Mello agreed, yawning. By this point, it was midnight and they had been awake for quite some time, so, naturally, they were a bit tired. "Move over," The blonde commanded, shoving Matt's side.

"What for?" Matt asked, now yawning himself. Those are contagious, after all. ((A/N:MythBusters FTW))

Mello looked up at Matt, "Why do you think? I'm not listening to your stomach growl again while I'm trying to sleep. I want a real pillow this time. One that doesn't breathe, move, or talk back."

"Usually, I'd say 'whatever' and move over, but if I did that here I would risk falling off the edge of the bed. Did you notice how small this thing is?" Matt asked, bored.

"So? lay on your side."

"The one that's mangled, or the one that's limp and noodley?"

"I don't think noodley's a word." Mello corrected

Matt shrugged his left arm, "It is now."

"How long has it been that way?" Mello wondered, eyeing Matt's arm.

"I dunno. I wanted to change the channel and my arm wouldn't work. See?"

"No, I don't see. It's not doing anything."

"Exactly." Matt sighed, "It doesn't matter anyway, as long as it's better by the time my left arm is."

"Is it just your arm?" Mello questioned, lifting said limb.

Matt's leg lifted into the air and he said, "Yeah, I'd say so." He glanced over at Mello, noticing that his hand was above his head. "When did you put that there?"

"You should probably get that checked out." Mello stated, reaching over to push the button again.

"Aw, come on Mello. Then we'll just be stuck in this hell-hole even longer." Matt whined, though he knew there really wasn't anything that he could do to stop him.

"So… You'd rather be paralyzed, is that what you're saying?" Mello prodded, knowing this was not the case. Maybe it would be another story if it was his legs, but his arms and hands? He needed those.

"…No…" Matt mumbled, averting his gaze.

"Then quit arguing." Mello commanded, and, with this, he pressed the button beside Matt's head.

The doctors and nurses once again came bustling in, glaring at Mello. "Have you ever heard the story of the boy who cried wolf?" One of the nurses asked snappishly.

"Yeah, but I have a _reason_ this time." Mello told her.

"You're hungry, we know. You're going to have to wait until there more staff are on duty." The head doctor stated.

"I can't feel my arm," Matt cut in, "Or move it, for that matter."

"You're not supposed to move it- that's why it's in a cast." The nurse snapped.

"My _right_ arm. The left one still hurts just fine." Matt mumbled. "I _wish_ it was the left. Then it wouldn't hurt half as bad."

One of the doctors grabbed the boy's arm roughly and lifted it above his head. "Can you feel this?" Matt simply shook his head in response. Now the doctor pinched the skin on the top of his hand. "How about now?"

"Obviously not. He'd smack you in the face if he did." Mello responded for him.

"What are they doing to me?" Matt asked, looking over at Mello. He couldn't see his hand too well, so his friend's words were all he had to rely on.

"Don't worry about it. I'll hit him if he does anything _really_ stupid." Mello replied, watching as the doctor set Matt's arm down beside him.

"Do you have any other symptoms?" The doctor asked, ignoring Mello and looking at Matt.

"I have a little bit of a headache," Matt admitted, "But I'm more tired than anything." As if to prove his point, he yawned.

The staff huddled together, discussing possible causes, and it didn't take long for them to come to the same conclusion. One of the nurses told Matt, "We're going to perform a few tests-"

"What _kind _of tests, and what are you looking for?" Matt demanded, getting bored with the whole situation.

"We're going to do an MRI scan of your brain and do a few blood clotting tests. When you hurt yourself, did you hit your head?" She asked.

After thinking for a few moments, the boy replied, "I don't really remember. I might have, I guess. But you didn't answer my other question. What are you looking for?"

"A blood clot that may have caused you to have a minor stroke." She stated, getting a bit antsy now. "Anything _else?"_

"I'm still hungry," He reminded, smirking. "But otherwise, no." It was strange. Despite the fact that Matt had just been told he may have had a stroke; he didn't seem disturbed at all. Most people would not have been that easygoing about something as serious as that. The nurse seemed a bit perturbed by this, but she left to prepare the machine anyway.

When they were alone again, Mello glanced over at Matt to see if his expression had changed. It hadn't. "Matt, you did hear them, right?"

"Yes, they said they think it's a stroke." Matt confirmed, "My arm's paralyzed, but my brain's still all there." Most people wouldn't have noticed the twitch of his lips, but Mello did. He knew Matt too well to miss it.

"Scared?" He asked, curious.

"I'm not scared," Matt mumbled, shifting under the blankets.

"Quit lying, you obviously are."

"No, Mello, I'm not scared." Matt stated, "I'm hopeless."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mello asked, confused by this.

"I can't even press a button to call for help. What good am I?" He turned his head away from Mello, "Maybe I really would just make a better human shield."

"Oh, shut up, will you!" Mello snapped, standing now, "You're not hopeless, you're just depressed. Chances are, it's not permanent, and even if it was, you still have a brain! You're still you, and you're still alive and conscious! The fact that you can't use one arm doesn't mean-"

"Except that I lied,"

"What?"

"I can't feel my left arm, either."

"Matt," Mello sighed, exasperated. "What the hell am I gonna do with you?" He sat down again, looking over at his friend. "You're not hopeless. You'll get better. You might need some rehab, but you'll be okay." Naturally, he felt more than awkward saying this. He was usually the one who needed Matt to comfort him, not the other way around… And Mello never talked like this, it just wasn't _him…_ But he knew he owed it to Matt, anyway. The room was silent for a few minutes, but, finally, he reached out and took Matt's hand, trying the best he could to help.

Not even looking at Mello, Mat asked, "What do you want?"

Mello tilted his head to the side, confused, "What do you mean?" He wondered.

"Your hand," Matt mumbled.

"You can feel it?" Mello questioned, squeezing Matt's hand more tightly.

"Barely… It's just like a tingle where your hand is." Matt replied, glancing over to be sure that he wasn't imagining things.

Mello smirked, "See? You're getting better already! You'll be fine."

Matt smiled at this, "Yeah… I guess you're right."


	19. Um, OW!

Tryin' to keep my promise!

* * *

After taking a few vials of blood and completing an MRI scan of Matt's brain, the doctors confirmed that it was, in fact, a stroke and left Matt and Mello alone, giving them orders to move the arm as much as possible to stimulate the muscles again. When it was only himself and Mello in the room again, Matt mumbled, "Okay, that solves one problem… But my other arm's going to atrophy in the cast."

"It'll be fine," Mello stated, "You're just going to have to work extra hard when the bones heal up."

"Hard work's not my style," Matt pointed out, "Especially not when it causes me pain."

"But if you work through it, you'll be able to play your stupid video games again," Mello reminded, "And I'll have my hacker back. So hurry up and get better."

"Selfish bastard." Matt grumbled, yawning. "But it _will_ be nice to save Princess Peach again."

"Were you referring to me, or the game?" Mello asked, already annoyed.

Matt smirked, "Both of you." That earned him a playful punch to the shoulder. "It's not easy, but there always has to be a prince to save the damsel in distress."

"Would you quit it with the girl jokes?" Mello hissed, punching a bit harder this time.

"It's just so tempting…" Matt mumbled, yawning, "You're too easy to make fun of."

"Who's the one who ran into a pole?" Mello retorted, glaring at Matt. He wasn't really mad- he knew the medicine the doctors had given him were probably effecting his brain, but, no matter the situation, he wasn't going to allow Matt, or anyone else, for that matter, to get away teasing him.

"That was a one-time deal."

"It had better be! I'm not staying here or waiting for you the next time you land yourself in a hospital!"

"Yes mother," The redhead confirmed, yawning again. "I'm still tired, though."

"Then go to sleep. That's when the body gets the most healing done, anyway." Mello told him.

"Where are you going to sleep?" The broken gamer wondered aloud.

"I guess you're my pillow again," Mello replied bluntly, "Try not to move around too much."

"I'll work on that." Matt muttered, "And I'll work on not using my digestive system, too."

Mello rested his head on Matt's chest and mumbled, "Shut up and go to sleep."

"Fine, fine," Matt looked down at Mello with a small smile, "Good night, Mello." All he got was a grunt in response, but he didn't seem to mind. Instead, he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Mello woke up to a deafening scream from Matt. "What the hell's the matter with you?!" He snapped, shooting a glare at Matt.

"B-b-button," Matt managed, trying to reach for the red button himself.

Mello hit it for him and asked, "What happened?"

"P-pain… Arm…"

"Left arm?" Matt nodded to confirm. "I thought you couldn't feel it?"

"B-before…" A new set of doctors and nurses burst into the room. Apparently, it was a different shift.

"What happened?" One of the nurses asked, approaching Matt, who looked to Mello for help. Matt thought that if he opened his mouth he would either start screaming or start crying. Either way, it would be better if Mello spoke for him.

"He said his left arm's hurting," Mello told the nurse, understanding what Matt wanted.

"On a scale of one to ten-"

"Twenty!" Matt blurted, closing his mouth again immediately afterwards.

A doctor came in with his charts, "He's had a minor stroke and has no feeling or movement in his right arm,"

"It was his left, too," Mello cut in, "And he has some feeling in his right now." Matt nodded in agreement.

"He hasn't had any pain medication in several hours. Give him a shot of Morphine and see what happens. If that's not enough, we'll look in to some other pain medication." The doctor commanded. One of the nurses bustled out of the room and returned with a syringe. She inserted it into the IV and told Matt, the pain should subside in a few minutes. I'm sorry we let this get so out-of control."

Matt glared at her and Mello smirked, "You should be." He translated to the nurse, sitting down beside his friend again. Remembering something, the blonde chocoholic told the nurse, "If you want to make it up to him, bring us food. We're starving and the idiots on the last shift wouldn't feed us."

"We only serve food to our patients. If you're hungry, you should go to the cafeteria when it opens." The nurse stated.

"When will that be?"

"Two hours." She replied, and with this, she left.

Mello opened his mouth to yell after her, but Matt cut him off. "Let it go. Hospital food sucks anyway. Why don't you run to McDonald's and pick something up?"

"There aren't any in the hospital, and I'm not leaving you here alone." Mello replied bluntly, "I don't trust these idiots."

"Flattering as your love for me is, go get some fast food. It'll make your male PMS go away. And get some for me while you're at it." ((A/N: FANSERVICE!))

"I'm really tempted to hit you right now." Mello warned, though he stood anyway.

Matt grinned, "I'll have whatever you're having," He told Mello, placing his order.

"Yeah, yeah." Mello mumbled, waving him off, "Just don't let anything else go wrong while I'm gone, got it?"

"Loud and clear!" Matt confirmed with a grin, "And if you stop at home, grab my smokes!"

"I'm pretty sure hospitals don't allow that." Mello grumbled, and, with this, he left the room.

Sighing contentedly, Matt settled in his bed and closed his eyes, deciding he might as well get a bit more sleep before Mello returned.

* * *

I've noticed that a lot of people like to have the characters have a say in the story, so... Here are our stars!

Mello: Why the hell did you drag me out here?

Matt: Better question: WHY ARE YOU ABUSING ME?!

Me: Because I loveses joo! *glomp*

Both boys: Get off!

Me: Why do I feel like my life's in danger?

Fingers: You're a dumbass, that's why. And you're talking to yourself again.

Me: There's a reason fingers don't have mouths! *bites hands*

Mello: Oookay then. I'm going to go get McDonald's now...

Matt: Wait! Don't leave me alone with this creeper!


	20. McD's

"Matt, get up!" Mello commanded, kicking the hospital bed in annoyance. "I leave for fifteen minutes and you pass out cold? Get up!"

Matt's eyes finally opened when Mello kicked his bed for a third time. He glanced over at Mello and smirked, "Male PMS didn't go away? Damn."

"Shut up and eat." Mello growled, thrusting a McDonald's take-out bag onto Matt's chest.

"Feed me. I still can't move my arms." Matt commanded, opening his mouth.

"Lucky for you, you'll be able to eat it without hands," Mello stated, producing a large cup from the bag.

"Oh, what the hell, Mello! I thought it felt too cold to be fries, but a chocolate shake? Come on! That's not a meal!" Matt protested.

"Too damn bad. You said you wanted what I was having, and I had a chocolate shake. Of course, if you don't want yours, I'd be happy to take it off your hands." He inserted the straw and put the cup beside Matt's pillow. "Enjoy."

"You're an ass, you know that?" Matt grumbled, though he turned his head and began to drink anyway. He was hungry enough to stand it. Still, he smelled something else. The cup smelled like French fries… Why…? Did everything from that place smell like grease? He looked up at Mello to see him smirking down, chewing on a limp bit of fried potato. "Oh, you little bitch!" Matt hissed, glaring at Mello.

"I was going to share," Mello told him, holding a fry out for Matt, "But somebody's too crippled to- ow! Watch it!" Matt had bitten down on Mello's finger, forcing him to release the food into his mouth.

After thoroughly chewing and swallowing, Matt opened his mouth again. "Feed me, mommy."

"Who's the little shit?"

"Bitch. I distinctly remember saying-" The gamer was cut off by a fistful of fries suddenly crammed into his mouth.

"Better finish eating before it gets cold." Mello taunted as Matt struggled to force the food down his throat.

Finally able to breathe again, Matt grumbled, "A warning would be nice next time." He took a small sip of the shake to wash the salty taste out of his mouth and wondered aloud, "So now even _chocolate_ won't cure your PMS? That's problematic. It works for pregnant women-"

More fries were stuffed into Matt's mouth as Mello growled, "What did I say about the girl jokes?"

Sighing, Matt retorted, "What did _I_ say about them? As soon as you stop dressing like an S and M drag queen by _choice,_ and get a real hair-cut, I'll stop making fun of you."

More food was forced into Matt's mouth as Mello argued, "At least I can pull it off. You'd look like shit in leather."

"Why would I _want_ to look good in leather? So I can attract male peers?"

_That_ was something Mello could work with. Raw teasing material. "Oh, so now you're attracted to me?"

"What- when the- Mello! Quit twisting my words around!"

"Well that's what you said, isn't it?" Mello tormented.

"_No_ I meant that… Never mind!" Matt turned away, flustered.

"Meant what?"

"I meant you're an ass." Matt stated simply.

"You don't really think that. You think I'm hot."

"I never said that!"

"You just _implied_ it. So much more fun."

"I was _implying_ that you look attractive for a _girl._" Matt corrected, "One from an S and M film."

"Uh-huh, but you know I'm _not_ a girl, so you were implying that I myself am attractive."

"And now I'm saying that you're full of yourself."

Mello grinned, "You're not denying it."

"Shut up, at least I'm not nailing a point into the ground. Why do you care so much?"

Mello… Hadn't been expecting that response. "I don't care." He replied, turning to face the door.

Now it was Matt's turn to have the upper hand, "Really? Then why did you keep trying to get me to tell you I think you're sexy? And don't bother trying to deny it because you know it's true!"

"I was just kidding!" Mello snapped, refusing to look at Matt.

"Is that so?" Matt asked, backing down. Unlike Mello, he didn't feel the need to win every argument. "Still… I wonder what you'd do…" He mumbled, thinking.

"What I'd do if what?" Mello asked, finally peering down at Matt.

"If I told you I thought you were hot." The red-head replied bluntly. "What would you do if I said that?"

Mello considered an answer for a moment or two, but, rather than answer directly, he retorted, "What does it matter? It's not like you'd actually-"

"Hypothetically." Matt corrected, "Hypothetically speaking."

Mello sighed, "Why do you care?"

"I'm curious." Matt replied with a shrug, "It's not life-or-death or anything… I was just wondering."

"I don't know." Mello finally answered, "I don't know what I'd do. Satisfied?"

"That was kind of a lame answer."

"It's the best one you're getting!" Mello retorted, "Now shut up and finish your shake before it all melts." Matt silently obliged the beginnings of a devious plan beginning to brew. Though he didn't mind losing arguments, he _hated_ being cheated out of answers… He was too curious to leave things go. It was just like a good RPG- you don't know what new plot twist is going to show up, so you can't stop or it'll just bug you the whole time you're trying to do something else.


	21. Matt's plan

Here I am again! So, I apparently forgot to put my rant in last time. Interesting... Well, that's beside the point. I doubt many people read these anyway. On the off chance that there ARE people reading it, I was thinking of starting yet another new fanfic. Also Matt and Mello, but more child-hood centered. If anybody's read "Kite Runner," you'll know what I mean when I say, it's sort of like that, but with a different outcome. I've been tossing the plot around since I finished the book, so... What do you guys think? Good, bad or in-between? Or do you want me to just shut up and write the chapter? XD

Mello: SHUT UP AND WRITE! I want to know what Matt's plan is.

Matt: Mello, you're just taking up more of her time by complaining. -.-;

Me: You just don't want to- OWIE! Mello, don't hit me!

Mello: VOTE NO! That fanfiction is going to suck!

Me: For you, maybe.

Matt: But aren't I-

Mello: SHUT UP ALREADY!

Matt: ...But now I'm curious. Vote yes!

Me: Alright, both of you STFU, I'm working now.

* * *

Mello glanced over at Matt to catch him in the middle of yet another yawn. That was the fifth one in two minutes. He'd been counting. It had been several hours since the McDonald's incident, and, for the most part, they had sat in silence, watching game shows and, occasionally, MTV. Matt had taken an interest in "Yo Momma," and there was a marathon running. "Matt, if you're tired, just go to sleep."

Matt's eyes rolled to Mello, "I'm not that tired..." He mumbled, yawning yet again.

"Who are you trying to prove that to?" Mello wondered aloud. "It's not like you have to stay awake and keep me company."

"I want to," Matt protested, " 'Cause yo momma's so stupid, she used a sock as a condom and got pregnant." ((A/N: That's original, by the way. I came up with that one day when I was bored, folding socks. Go figure.))

Mello looked at Matt in disbelief, "Now I know why parents say TV rots brain cells. Seriously, go to sleep. You're tired and slap-happy."

"I'm not slap-happy," Matt grumbled, "I'm just a little crazed."

"Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"Go the fuck to sleep." Matt had to hold back a grin. So far, everything was going as planned.

"I don't wanna. I'm not tired."

"Obviously you are!" Mello snapped, "Sleep is good for sick people!"

"I'm not sick, I'm _injured."_ Matt corrected, "And I'm _still_ not tired."

Mello glared at him, clearly pissed. "Matt," He hissed, "I'm _trying_ to be nice to you,"

"That's a first."

"So do yourself a favor and do what I tell you, dammit!"

Matt paused, as if thinking, then replied, "Nope. Still don't wanna."

"What the hell, Matt?! What's your problem? You're acting like a little kid!"

Matt bit his lip to keep from laughing. Now everything had been prepared. All that was left was to put his plan into motion. "I don't want to sleep."

"Why the hell not?"

"My eyes won't close."

"What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing," Matt mumbled, "They just don't want to close."

"Quit speaking in code, will you?!" Mello snapped.

"Okay..." Matt yawned again for effect, "I can't sleep because I can't stop staring at you. You're so hot."

Mello stared at him in disbelief and something strange happened. Something Matt had never seen on Mello before. He was _blushing._ "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"You, obviously."

"No, I mean... You know what I mean!"

"You're blushing," Matt pointed out.

"Shut up, you ass!" Mello stormed towards the door.

"Where are you going, Mello?" Matt called, teasing now.

"To get coffee!" With this, Mello walked out and slammed the door behind himself. As soon as the door was closed, Matt burst into laughter. The plan hadn't worked as perfectly as he'd hoped, but it was still pretty damn amusing... And the blush was enough. He knew that Mello's judgement was always clouded by his emotions, especially when he was mad. All he really had to do was piss Mello off. Granted, there were many ways to do this, he chose the 'sleepy' path because he knew that he could get away with being a jackass if he blamed it on lack of sleep... Otherwise, Mello would suspect that something was up before he was able to pull it off. He did feel a bit sorry for Mello after a few minutes, but not much. Maybe it was a _little_bit cruel... But after everything he'd put Matt through, a little teasing seemed like nothing in comparison. Still, he vowed to apologize to Mello when he came back, and relaxed against his pillow once more.

Eventually, Mello walked back in, coffee in hand, and took his seat again. An awkward silence fell between them for a time, before Matt finally spoke up. "I got you, that time."

"Shut up, Matt." Mello hissed with a glare.

"I'd rather not." Matt replied lazily, glancing over at Mello. "Sorry, princess. I wasn't trying to pick on you, I was just curious."

"Shut up, Matt."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll shut you up."

Matt smirked, "What're you gonna do? Kiss me?" He asked, puckering his lips. Mello had truly walked right into that one.

Both Mello's glare and his residual blush intensified, "So what if I do?"

"So what if you do?" Matt mocked, sincerely believing that Mello wouldn't do it. Maybe it was the medication that made Matt forget, no one will ever really know for sure... But one thing is certain: He'd forgotten that Mello would do _anything_ to get revenge.

* * *

Hooray for cliff-hangers! Don't you just love them?

Matt and Mello: **_NO!_**

Me: Awww, but it's so _obvious_ what's going to happen!

Mello: So why don't you just get it over with?!

Me: Because it's fun to torment you.

Matt: Mello, you're blushing again.

Mello: SHUT UP, MATT! *storms off*

Matt and I: Oookay... Well, we'll see you in the next chapter!


	22. Is that allowed?

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!

* * *

Matt's eyes widened in shock. Mello was... _kissing _him?! Fortunately for him, Mello decided not to torment him for too long and pulled away after only a few seconds, though he still hovered close to the other boy's face. "You're blushing, Matt." He teased with a smirk.

"S-shut up!" Matt snapped, "What was that for?"

"For being an ass." Mello replied simply, "Are you done now?"

"That wasn't even fair! I can't fight back, remember?" Matt groaned in protest.

Shrugging, the blonde said, "Sucks for you. You could've bitten me."

Matt glared at his friend for a moment before turning away. "Screw you. I'm going to sleep."

Mello felt a rare pang of guilt in his chest. Maybe he _had_ overreacted a bit in the heat of the moment. Though he wouldn't usually apologize, he mumbled, "Sorry, Matt." under his breath.

"If I didn't know you as well as I do I'd hate you right now," Matt stated, "But I know you were just acting out of anger. It's fine, Mello... Just try to be more careful. If you try pulling that shit with your new friends you're going to lose your head. Literally."

"They're not my friends." Mello responded quietly, "They're just subordinates, now that I've taken care of that other ass."

Matt glanced back over at Mello, "What does that make me, then?" He wondered aloud, "Aren't I the same? Just one of your pawns to beat Near?"

"No," Mello said with a smirk, "You're not the same as them. If you were, you wouldn't have followed me, and I wouldn't have trusted you to follow me. I would have left without a second thought and you would have moved on. You wouldn't have been in that accident, and I wouldn't have stayed here with you."

Matt grinned happily. Knowing that Mello actually considered him a friend made everything else worth it. "Aww, I love you too, Mello." He teased, turning his head so he faced Mello once more.

"And if I didn't consider you a friend I might be pulling a gun out of my pocket right now instead of a damn cigarette!" Mello hissed, pulling a box of cigarettes out of his coat pocket.

At that point, Matt was grinning from ear to ear, "You didn't-"

"It's my fault you're here in the first place," Mello mumbled, removing a lighter from his pocket and lighting the stick of tobacco, "I can at least do you a few small favors. Open your mouth." Matt did as he was told and allowed Mello to place the cigarette between his lips. He closed his eyes, took a long drag, and, feeling the presence leave his lips, exhaled a puff of smoke.

"The nurses are going to hate you, you know." Matt stated, allowing Mello to repeat the process.

"Screw the nurses." Mello replied.

"They can kick you out," Matt reminded heaving another smokey sigh.

"Like hell they can. I'm not going anywhere."

"Are you going to dress up as a nurse?" Matt questioned.

"Shut up or I'm taking this away." Mello scolded, holding the smoldering item above his head threateningly.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," The gamer apologized. As a reward, the cigarette was returned to his lips. The cigarette was finished in silence, the ashes discarded in the sink against the right wall.

Now, without the distraction of the cigarette, Matt locked his eyes with Mello's, "Why'd you do that?" He asked softly.

"I told you-"

"Since when have you admitted to feeling guilty?" Matt interjected.

Mello sighed. Matt had a point there... "Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf."

"That'll be the day. You're the most stubborn person I've ever met." The redhead stated, "So what's the real reason?"

"I thought it might distract you from all of this shit." Mello said, "Your brain doesn't work like most people's. It looks for something to do when it's bored, so you've been thinking about what life would be like if you never got use of your arms back, what would happen to me, how useless you are..."

Matt shook his head, "You know me too damn well." He grumbled, "Yeah, I did, and I figured all of it out." Mello raised an eyebrow, encouraging him to continue. "I decided that I could hire someone to be my hands, and you could still have my brain, so not much would change. As for my games... Well, there _are_ones that only rely on the use of your feet. DDR and shit... Though it's not the best, it's something. Besides, I'm already starting to get better, see? I can move my arms now." Matt lifted his right arm above his head, "My fingers are still useless, but my arms aren't. I'm getting there."

Mello watched Matt closely and asked, "How long have you been able to do that?"

"Not too long. You didn't notice it, but when you were holding the cigarette above my head, my left arm started to go up to take it back. It didn't get far though, 'cause it's in this stupid brace and it kind of hurt to move." Matt replied truthfully.

"Maybe we'll be able to go home soon, then."

"Oh, that'll be something to look forward to. You'll have to wait on me hand and foot." Matt said with a smirk, "I'll be wheelchair-bound for a while, you know."

"Handicapped people get around just fine."

"They can usually use both of their arms." Matt reminded. "I may not be a quadriplegic, but I'm damn close."

Mello scowled, "Don't get used to it," He warned.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Matt replied, "But it will be nice to be back in that crazy-ass apartment."

"Yeah, maybe if I completely lose it, somebody will find your skull hanging from the toilet handle." Mello said with a smirk.

"You'd have to be pretty damn insane for that to happen. You lose me, you lose the case. You know that, right?"

"Look who's talking, number three." Mello stated.

"You're forgetting that I don't care about the damn ranks. Point is, number _two, _without me you'd have no hacker and no conscience. Don't bother denying it." Matt pointed out.

"Didn't you say you were tired earlier?" The blonde wondered aloud.

It had taken until Mello mentioned it for Matt to realize that this was still quite true. "Yeah, I am." He murmured, "G'night, Mello."

Mello pulled his chair a bit closer to Matt's bed and rested his head beside Matt's on the pillow, curling his legs up onto the chair in the process. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but it was better than listening to Matt's stomach growl all night. "'Night, Matt." Matt smiled, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep. He didn't really mind sharing his pillow with Mello. It wasn't as if they hadn't woken up in eachother's beds after nightmares in Wammy's, so he didn't see anything wrong with it. Besides, this meant that all had been forgiven for their little fight earlier, and the thought of that put both of their minds at ease.


	23. Can we leave now!

Matt was the first to wake up the next morning, and, as his eyes fluttered open, he found himself face-to-face with Mello. It took him a moment to remember what had happened the night before, and, when it wandered to their fleeting kiss, his cheeks grew hot and he scooted his head back a bit. It was then that he noticed that his back was pressed against the wall behind him. Apparently Mello had crawled into bed with him sometimes in the night and pushed him over in the process. With a small sigh, he tested his free arm. Yep, still moving. He attempted to clench his hand into a fist, and was successful- but it made him rather dizzy, so he didn't keep it that way for long.

One of the nurses entered the room and, upon noticing that the boys were sharing Matt's bed, she blushed and asked softly, "Am I... Interrupting something?"

"My sleep." Mello grumbled in response. Apparently the nurse's voice had been loud enough to awaken him.

"Get off my bed." Matt commanded, instantly regretting it. He knew how their friendship worked. Mello gave the orders, and Matt's were always disregarded... And usually worked against him. Especially when Mello was half-asleep and cranky. The blonde snuggled in closer to his friend and draped an arm over his chest.

"What was that? Did you say, 'don't leave me, Mello?' Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Mello said with a smirk. Yeah, Matt was being shown his place again.

"Mello? Is that your nickname?" The nurse wondered, "I thought your name was Tom..."

"Mello's his nickname," Matt confirmed quickly, realizing that, of the two of them, he was thinking the most clearly at the time. "Don't mind him, he's just tired... Was there something you needed?"

After a moment of silence and a questioning stare, the nurse replied, "...Yes, the doctor would like to see how your range of motion is."

Matt lifted his right arm above his head and clenched his fist, "Can I go now?" He wondered aloud as the nurse came to study how strong his grip was.

She was quiet for a moment, then murmured, "I'll go get your discharge papers..." And turned to leave the boys.

When the door was safely closed, Matt hissed, "Wake up, Mello! You're making an ass of yourself and you nearly blew our damn cover!"

Mello opened one eye to gaze at Matt before replying, "Shut up, Matt. You handled it just fine."

Matt rolled his eyes, "Well get up anyway. We're leaving in a little bit."

"We are?" Mello wondered groggily. Apparently, he hadn't heard the nurse.

"Yeah, but you're going to have to fill out the paperwork for me. I don't think I can hold a pen yet." The gamer stated as Mello finally sat up and slid over to his chair.

"You're useless." Mello muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"And you're going to have to put up with my uselessness for a while. I'm going to need the use of at least one of my hands before I can do anything myself." Matt added. At that moment, the nurse that had seen him earlier walked in their room, a doctor in her wake.

The doctor took Matt's arm and raised it above his head, "Alright, try to put your arm down." He commanded. Matt did as he was told, fighting the doctor's resistance to the best of his abilities. He, however, was not the most muscular boy from Wammy's... Well, with the exception of his hands and fingers. They got quite a bit of exercise.

The doctor, seeming satisfied, allowed Matt to rest his arm on the bed, then told him to make a fist. He did as he was told, and the doctor leaned in and began manipulating his fingers, testing the grip. Matt's eyes clenched shut as he felt a wave of nausea wash over him. Mello, apparently seeing the distress on his friend's face, smirked. He had noticed something- well, _two_ things, while he was waiting for Matt to wake up, and he'd been dying to use them to his advantage ever since. Now was the perfect opportunity. He kicked his leg out and smacked his foot against the small lever behind the wheel closest to the chair. It was the only one that was secured, as he'd noticed earlier, and the floor was at an angle. Almost unnoticeable... Unless you were looking very, _very_ closely. With just a little nudge, the bed began rolling, and the doctor was forced to let go of Matt's hand.

"Whoops, looks like my foot slipped." Mello stated innocently, trying to hide a grin by shrugging his shoulders. There was one minor detail, however, that he had overlooked. The doctor had left the door open... And they were in the room exactly opposite the stairs. Mello, the doctor, and the nurse, watched in horror as the bed picked up momentum, rolling toward the stairs.

Matt, sensing that he was moving, opened his eyes, which widened immediately. "Mello!" He called out of pure instinct. Who else would he call for when he felt utterly screwed? Near? The doctors? No, he couldn't trust them. And of course he didn't think to use their code names at such a time.

Snapped out of his state of shock, Mello lept to his feet and chased after the cart, grabbing it with one hand and the open door with the other, successfully stopping the bed just before it hit the first step. Matt lurched forward from the momentum, but, thankfully, did not fall. At that point, realizing that the dangerous part was over, the nurse and doctor's deer-in-headlights looks disappeared and they rushed to help Mello wheel Matt back into the safety of his room.

"You call yourself a doctor?!" Mello hissed as the nurse made quick work of the brakes, making sure that all of them were secured this time, "You didn't even _try_ to help him!"

The doctor, feeling rather belittled after being scolded by a mere child, mumbled, "I'll go get your discharge papers..." And left with the nurse.

Mello huffed and sat down on his chair once more. "Assholes." He grumbled, rubbing his shoulder absent-mindedly.

Matt noticed this strange behavior and asked, "Mello? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine- you're the one who had the stroke _and_ the car accident." Mello replied rather snappishly.

Not exactly satisfied by this response, Matt pressed, "How did you stop me?"

"I grabbed the bed and the door. Why?" Mello wondered, looking at him curiously.

"You probably pulled a muscle in your shoulder." Matt stated with a sigh, "Be more careful, will you? The last thing we need is to have both of us crippled."

"Be more careful? Who's the one who had two near death experiences within twenty-four hours?" Mello grumbled, "I'm fine- I think I just dislocated it. He shifted his arm a bit, applying pressure to his shoulder. There was a loud popping sound and he smirked, satisfied, "See? I'm fine."

Matt sighed and mumbled, "Yeah, except that once you've had a dislocated shoulder, you're more likely to get it again. Seriously, Mello, don't be so reckless."

"If I wasn't so 'reckless,' you'd be a human pretzel at the bottom of the stairs right now." Mello stated pointedly.

Matt furrowed his brows, thinking about this. "...Why'd you do that?"

* * *

Oohhh, cliffhanger!

We're starting to see a more protective side of Mello... I've always sort of imagined him that way. To me he seems reckless with himself, but defensive when it comes to Matt. I dunno.


	24. Argument

Wow, this took longer than expected... My puppy and work have been taking over my life. Ah, well... So, I want you guys to visit my new webpage. I like talking to you, and I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you have! (You can also use it to nag me, and I promise I won't get mad.)

* * *

"Why did I do what?" Mello wondered aloud, "Recklessly endanger your life, or save it after said reckless endangerment?"

Matt considered this question for a moment before replying, "Both."

Mello was silent for a bit before admitting, "I don't know. You looked uncomfortable when the doctor was touching you, so I wanted to make it stop as inconspicuously as I could.. And then I came after you because you called for me."

"I did before," The gamer protested, "Before you left, I knew something was wrong, and you wouldn't tell me. I could've done something, Mello, we didn't have to leave Wammy's. We could still be there, and none of this would have happened!"

"So go back if you want," Mello told him, "I don't need-"

"Don't you dare tell me you don't need me, Mello." Matt hissed, sitting up. "If you really believed that, you would have left me behind, and you wouldn't have dragged me here. Neither of us are buying that load of shit. You could have outsmarted and lost me no problem, and you know it."

"I can make do with the mafia goons." Mello argued, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"Let's just go home. Let Near handle-"

"I'd rather die!" Mello snapped, standing now with his fists clenched at his sides, "There's no way in hell I'm letting Near have that much glory to hang over my head. And I'm never going back to Wammy's, forget that fantasy! If you want to go back, be my damn guest, just don't expect to drag me along alive!"

Matt averted his gaze and mumbled, "You really _don't_ want me here, do you?" He mumbled. "Fine, if I mean that little to you, maybe I will go back." He shrunk back against his pillows and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to keep himself from crying. That would be about the worst possible thing for him to do in that situation.

"What the hell are you going on about now? When did I say anything like that?"

"You implied it. You're too obsessed with one-upping Near to even consider what I have to say, and obviously our childhood memories mean notihng id you won't give a single thought to just visiting Wammy's for old time's sake. Not to mention the fact that you keep telling me to go home. You win. You always win. I'll go home and you can forget about me, okay? Will that make you happy?" Matt wondered aloud, rolling onto his side with his back to Mello, "I'll order a ticket on the first flight-"

"Stop it, Matt," Mello said softly, his anger subsiding only to be replaced by guilt. "None of that is your fault, and you said yourself that I don't want you to leave." He sat down on the edge of the boy's bed and cautiously placed a hand on Matt's shoulder, his fists now limp. "I wouldn't be happy if you left; that would only make me feel worse..." Mello sighed, "Matt... Look at me."

The redhead turned his head to look at Mello, tears welling up in his eyes. He wanted to say something, anything... But he just couldn't find the words. All he could manage was a weak "Okay."

Mello, feeling even more guilty, wiped away a single tear as it rolled down Matt's face, "It's not your fault I don't want to go back to Wammy's, if anything, it's Near and Roger's fault. And I'll always remember the good times we had. Remeber when I ran away after Beyond Birthday died and got lost? You looked all over town for me and found me sleeping in the cemetary, then carried me all the way back home."

Matt sniffled as a small smile crossed his lips, "I still don't understand how you managed to get lost... But Roger was so proud of me, he bought me a T.V. and Nintendo 64 for our room and our use only."

Mello nodded, "You stayed up all night playing that damn thing for a month. I swore to myself if you went for longer than that I was going to throw it out the window."

"Really? I didn't know it pissed you off that much." Matt admitted, yawning.

"Some of us like to pay attention in class instead of sleeping," Mello replied, noticing that Matt had finally stopped crying.

Matt rolled back over to face Mello snd found himself clinging to the blonde's shirt. "Don't scare me like that again, Mello. I really thought you hated me."

"I doubt that aything you could say or do would make me hate you." Mello stated, though, after considering this for a moment, he added, "Aside from teaming up with Near, that is."

"I doubt that would ever happen." Matt said softly, feeling nauseous again from holding on so tightly. He released his grip, instead wrapping his one free arm around Mello in a tight, awkward hug. "I don't think I'll ever be able to leave your side."

Mello's body tensed. He wasn't used to affection like this, though it was not the first time that Matt had hugged him. He would, occasionally, when Mello gave him a birthday or Christmas gift that he was particularly pleased with, and sometimes even when Mello was really upset with something Near did... But this felt different, somehow... Not _bad, _really, just... Different. He returned it nonetheless, holding Matt close, "I know. And I don't want you to." Matt squeezed tighter in response, happy that Mello had said that. Even if he hadn't meant it, though Matt was fairly certain that he had, it was comforting to hear, though evewn more comforting was the warmth of Mello's arms around him. Of course he knew something was bound to interrupt this moment, and it did. The nurse who had gone to gather his release forms opened the door without warning, and Matt and Mello instantly broke apart.

"Umm... Here are your papers," The nurse said, blushing as she passed them off to Mello before rushing out of the room.

Mello sighed and began filling out the forms, well aware of the fact that Matt was watching him intently. Finally, he put the pen down and asked, "What is it, Matt?"

"Nothing," Matt replied, "I'm just happy we're still friends. I have no idea what I'd do without you."

"You'd be playing video games, smoking, and taking up other unhealthy habits, I'm sure." Mello replied, returning to his paperwork.

Soon enough, Mello was wheeling Matt out the door in a wheelchair the hospital had given them, and they were catching a taxi back to their apartment. They both noticed something strange, however. It seemed as though, despite the fact that they had just been having a rather serious argument, they were even closer than they had been before... And Mello couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with the feeling he'd had when Matt hugged him.

* * *

Okay, show of hands: Who cried when they were fighting? I did. Seriously. I was sitting here, reading as my fingers put words together, and I started crying.


	25. Presents!

The second they were back in the safety of their apartment, Matt got out of the wheelchair- which Mello was still pushing, and lunged twoard the couch. "Matt!" Mello hissed angrily, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get back in the chair- you're not supposed to be walking around!"

"I'm not walking, I'm crawling." Matt corrected, as he was, in fact, now on his knees and one good hand as he peered beneath the couch.

"....What the hell are you doing? Did you forget to tell me you found another skull? Maybe one of the lady's cat's or-"

"Found it!" Matt interrupted, lying on the ground and fishing out the gift he had bought for Mello a few days prior.

"Found what?" Mello wondered aloud, curious now as he squatted beside Matt.

Matt smirked and replied, "Way to remember your own birthday, Mello." He shoved the gift to the blonde's feet and sat up, "And I don't care if you say you don't want it, 'cause I don't want to go back to that store ever again. I think they were legitimately going to maul me if I hung around any longer than I had."

Mello raised an eyebrow at this and told Matt, "You know I never want birthday presents." Though he said this in a sincere tone, Mello was still opening the gift as he spoke.

"Yet I never listen. So sue me." Mello lifted the black lid from the box and removed it's contents, one piece at a time. And then, suddenly, there it was. A smile- a genuine, rare smile fom Mello that could light up all of LosAngeles. "Remember what you always said when you dragged me shopping so you could try on leather for hours on end?"

"I remember..." Mello stuffed the clothing back into the box and darted off to his room, only to return moments later, fully clad in the leather outfit that Matt had bought him. It fit perfectly- though it was a tad more revealing than had been intended. The v-neck was obviously intended for a female's chest, but the way it fell against Mello's made him look a bit more threatening... Though the way the tight undershirt rose several inches above the waist-line of the pants just made him look provocative.

"Transformation complete. Now you look like a real mafia badass. Walk in there with that guy's head in your hand and they'll worship you." Matt said, only half-joking as he used his right hand to push himself to his feet and hobble bac to his wheelchair.

"What made you think of this?" Mello asked, admiring the way the dark gloves made his pale arms stand out.

With a shrug, the gamer replied, "I was trying to think of the perfect gift, and that was just what came to mind. I have to admit, the manikins helped a lot... Though it looks way better on you. It's hard to make a manikin like you."

Mello eyed him curiously and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Matt thought about this for a moment before replying, "It's hard to replicate your expressions, and the way your eyes can just see right through me. I don't think plastic can do that."

Seemingly satisfied with this response, the blonde pushed Matt to his room and helped him onto the bed. After pulling the covers up to Matt's chin, he asked, "You want anything before I go show off my kill?"

Matt looked off to the side, trying to think of a way to word this without sounding awkward or offensive. "Mello... Will you sit with me until I fall asleep? I don't want to be alone when I can't even make a fist to punch someone's lights out."

Mello smirked and stated, "Like you'd hurt a fly in the first place." Nevertheless, he lay down on the bed beside Matt, grateful that it was large enough that they could have some space between them, much unlike the cramped hospital bed. "Get some sleep, Matt."

"Okay..." Matt allowed his voice to drift off as he closed his eyes. He wasn't particularly tired after all of the rest he'd had at the hospital, but he knew for a fact that Mello was. After all of the excitement at the hospital... And what Matt was fairly certain had been all-nighters... There was no way he wasn't tired. Sure enough, it wasn't long before he heard deep, steady breathing beside him.

Relaxed, Matt smiled and murmured, "Goodnight, Mello."

It wasn't long before Matt could feel the warmth of Mello's body beside his. It was calling to him... And he wanted to respond. Just to be close to Mello, as they had been in the hospital. That same feeling that had tempted him to tease Mello into kissing him. That same feeling that had urged him to throw himself into the other's embrace, never wanting to let go. Finally, he gave up. Quietly and gently as he could, Matt slid his body up against Mello's and rolled onto his side, allowing his broken arm to rest atop the sleeping boy's form. He had thought that this would be enough for him, just being close like this. But there was a nagging voice in the back of his mind. A persistant, nagging voice, telling him to just go for it. After summoning all of his courage, Matt tipped his face up slightly and gently pressed his lips to Mello's slightly parted ones before bracing for impact... But no amount of preparation could have made what happened next any easier on his conscience.

* * *

Okay, I know that was short... Buy I'm planning on updating again sometime this weekend. In other news, I'm going to be legal son! My 18th birthday is on the third, so shower me with reviews as a gift!!


	26. The Moment You've All Been Waiting For

Only seconds away from reaching Mello's lips, he felt strong arms wrap around his back, and, before he had time to respond, Mello's lips collided with his own. Unable to put up much of a fight with only one good arm, Matt gave in, kissing back for a few moments before Mello pulled back slightly. His eyes half-lidded and voice a bit raspy, Matt asked, "What was that for?"

There was a pause, a silence more deafening than the gamer had thought possible. He felt Mello tense beneath him, pulling Matt down until his arm could no longer support his position, and he collapsed onto the blonde's chest. "Wasn't that what you were going to do anyway?" Mello countered, though his voice carried a nervous air that made the red head uncomfortable.

Shaking his head, Matt uttered, "That's not the point! Quit dodging my questions and answer me! What did you do that for?"

Mello averted his gaze and took a moment to think about it. "I didn't want you to pussy out at the last second." He replied, his voice barely a whisper, "You're not the only one who wanted to know what to call that..." He choked on the word as it came awkwardly out of his mouth, "...kiss. I... I was wondering, too. I don't even know what came over me then or now, it just _happened._" There was another pause, another deep silence between the two of them as both searched for words. Finally, Mello murmured, if for no other reason than to make the other boy explain himself first, "...Matt?"

Their eyes met once more and Matt said simply, "Okay." He knew that, for most people in most situations, he would have to explain what exactly was "okay," but he also recognized Mello's genius, and trusted that he would understand exactly what had been meant by that one, simple word.

He did. Mello leaned in close and pressed his lips to Matt's. The kiss was brief, but meaningful, and it wasn't long before they broke apart, gazing into each other's eyes. They were quiet for a few minutes, both boys replaying their lives together, trying to make sense of it. Finally, Mello said softly, "I don't think I got it that time. Should we try that again?" Matt sensed something different about the way Mello said this... He seemed to confident in himself to be in the least bit uncertain. Well, Matt decided, he knew his answer anyway. Maybe he'd known it all along. Without bothering to wait for a response from Matt, Mello slid his hands around to the front of the gamer's vest and pushed him off, proceeding to roll on top of him. There was no way he was going to allow Matt to feel like he had any sort of power over him... And Matt didn't struggle. Instead, he reached his right arm up and pulled Mello in close as their lips met once more.

It has been said that actions speak louder than words. If that is indeed the case, the best way that this display of affection can be described is as follows: "Oh my fucking GOD! Why the hell did I wait so long for- Mmmmmmph! I needed this- I needed you- I fucking NEED you!" ...Or something of the sort.

When their lips finally parted, Matt murmured, "Okay... I think I get it now."

Mello smirked and hissed, "Shut the hell up!" Before capturing his lips once more. When they pulled back again for breath, the blonde said quietly, "I never knew you were _gay,_ Matt."

Matt recoiled at the thought and grumbled, "You don't count. You're too feminine to be considered a member of the male population, Princess Pe- ow!" He was scolded by a harsh bite to the ear.

"That's for bringing up your stupid video games at a time like this." Mello growled, clearly annoyed by Matt's attempted joke. He rolled off of Matt's chest and sat up. "I don't have time to sit around while you try to seduce me," He grumbled, getting to his feet. "I have to bring the enemy's head to the boss and have them clean everything up before the cops find out... And considering we don't have a _car..."_

Matt sighed dramatically and said, "Fine, fine, just leave me for dead, I see how it is."

Mello rolled his eyes, "You'll be fine. I doubt the doctors would have released you if they thought there was a chance of another stroke, and nobody's going to bother coming to this dump in search of anything important anyway. I'll be back in a few hours, so... Try and get some sleep."

Of course Matt couldn't sleep. No way in hell. Especially not after what had just happened.... What _had_happened? What did it mean? What were they? Could they still consider themselves just friends, or...? Sighing with frustration, Matt waited until he heard the front door click shut and Mello's light footsteps on the fire-ladder before sitting up and inching into his wheelchair. Using his feet (like the Flinstones. Trust me- it works on wheelchairs. I've done it.) to propel himself, he moved back into the family room, struggling only slightly on the thick, plush carpeting. Eventually, he made it to the couch, where he settled himself with his beloved laptop on his lap. Using only his right hand, he awkwardly opened up the file containing the tracking device. He watched Mello descend the stairs and meet up with a shiny black Chevrolet Escalade. "And he makes me buy him a car. Why are we wasting our money? Damn rich assholes..." He grumbled, "You'd better come back with some cold, hard cash, Mello." He warned the screen. Of course he would never say anything like that to Mello's face, but there was no way for him to hear it.

* * *

I was going to add more to this chapter, but my brain is dead. I'm thinking of trying to get a novel published... It's currently a short sory for my English class, but it's good enough to turn into a novel. Add a few details here, a few side-plots there, maybe back it up so the characters are more developed... I don't know. But the point is, I have a lot stressing me out right now, so... Yeah. Enjoy this chapter.


	27. Yeah, they just did that

Miss me?

* * *

Mello and what Matt could only assume was a low-rank mafia thug, drove off into the desert, back to the base of the rival gang that he helped Mello raid while the gamer watched. The pair went inside with a black garbage bag, where they remained for several minutes before stepping back out into the desert, the thug carrying the garbage bag- which seemed to have gained a bit of weight- to the Escalade while Mello followed, beaming proudly. The two got back into the vehicle once the bag was safely loaded in the trunk and hidden under a blanket, completely out of sight. Not that one could really tell anythnig was back there once the doors were closed, as the windows were tinted to look almost black. The vehicle pulled away from the hideout and, after a few minutes of driving, pulled up in front of an old, shabby building that Matt could only assume was a Mello's gang's hideout in disguise. The larger man opened the trunk for Mello, who pulled the bag out and heaved it over his shoulder, strutting- yes, Mello was strutting- into the building.

Matt sighed, wishing the camera could follow his friend inside, as he sat back on the couch and looked down at his arms. He really did feel pathetic, with one arm in a cast and the other more or less useless. The worst of it was that he knew he would be worthless to Mello, at least for the time being. Matt hated the thought of being a burden to Mello rather than an accomplice, though he wasn't sure Mello would see it that way. Mello was better at looking at the long-term, while Matt preferred to focus on short-term, though, of course he considered the future and was aware of it. Still, it just wasn't soon enough. If only he hadn't been so reckless...

With a deep sigh, Matt returned his attention to the screen, waiting for Mello to come back out. Though he hadn't said it out loud, Matt truly was worried about Mello being so close to those people. They could just be manipulating him and kill him whenever they got sick of him. But no, Mello was to smart to let that happen. He would gain control of this gang and somehow use them to deal with Kira. Matt still wasn't exactly sure what the blonde's plan was, but he obviously had something in mind for the goons, right?

Finally, after several hours of waiting, the image on his laptop shifted as Mello walked out of the building, escorted by two large men in tuxedos and sunglasses, one of whom Matt recognized as the man who had picked his friend up earlier. They walked with him to a bright red motorcycle, clearly built for speed, and handed him something too small for the satellite camera to see clearly. Mello smirked at them and waved dismissively as he mounted the oversized electric bike. No. No no no no no this was NOT happening, was all Matt could think as he watched, somewhat terrified, as Mello pulled on a helmet and sped off, seeming to naturally know how to handle the vehicle. Of all things, why had they given Mello a motorcycle? Matt had enough to worry about with the mafia and the cops, now a motorcycle? Suddenly, Matt realized that the other was headed in the direction of their apartment, and hastily signed out, closing the laptop amd setting it on the coffee table, just as it had been. With some difficulty, he heaved himself back into the wheelchair and rolled back into the bedroom, pulling the covers up to his chin just as he heard the lock on the door open. Just in time. Acting as if the noise of Mello proudly slamming the door behind him had awoken him, he called is a psuedo-weary voice, "Mello? Are you home?"

Mello invited himself into the bedroom, holding the helmet Matt had seen earlier against his hip, his free hand stroking his hair back into place. "Matt, you're not going to believe this. They gave me a motorcycle!"

With a small smirk, Matt mumbled, "No shit?"

The blonde shot him an accusing glare, "How did you know?"

"Motorcycles are LOUD, Mello. I could hear you coming. Plus you've got that helmet," He reminded, pointing to the evidence. Mello's eyes went wide as he dropped the helmet and sat beside his dear friend. "Mello? You feeling okay?" Matt asked, appearing rather alarmed as he looked up at him. It wasn't often that Mello reacted this openly to anything, so he was a bit concerned that something terrible had happened.

"Your hand," Mello said, taking Matt's right hand in his own, "You just pointed!"

It took a moment for Matt to realize what Mello was talking about before he decided to try something. He flexed his hand, then closed it tightly around the other boy's. "It doesn't hurt..." He commented softly, smiling as his eyes met Mello's, "I can use my hand again!"

* * *

Short chapter, but it seemed like a good place to end it, wouldn't you agree? Hope you liked it! I'll try to update more frequently~! Love you all


End file.
